The Grand Chase
by Kyiea
Summary: 7 warriors join together to stop the evil of Kaze'aze. my own version of GrandChase. First fic, R&R, rated for safety. Genres may change. Read to find out pairings.
1. Prologue

First We'll start with a prologue

* * *

The continent of Bermesiah, the biggest continent in our world is ruled by two kingdoms, Serdin to the west and Kanavan to the east. These two kingdoms coexisted in peace as allies until one day many years ago when the queen of darkness, Kaze'aze, killed the queen of Kanavan's most trusted retainer and disguised herself as him. Kaze'aze drew close to the queen of Kanavan and slowly pulled her heart to darkness. Due to Kaze'aze's influence the queen of Kanavan declared war on the kingdom of Serdin, in a battle which would last 5-years. The continent of Bermesiah was devastated, many brave soldiers lost their lives for a pointless battle and even the queen of Serdin sacrificed herself in an effort to end the 5-year war. The death of the queen of Serdin broke Kaze'aze's control over the queen of Kanavan and Kaze'aze was forced to flee before her execution. Enraged, the queen of Kanavan released many trackers to hunt down and kill Kaze'aze but after years of searching all contact with the queens trackers stopped, forcing the queen to give up her search. The kingdom of Serdin experienced many bizarre incidents which were related to Kaze'aze after the five year war. These incidents proved to the Serdin kingdom that the five-year war was the fault of Kaze'aze and not the kingdom of Kanavan. For the sake of the entire continent Kaze'aze must be stopped. The new queen of Serdin has organized the Grand Chase, an elite corps who's job is to hunt down and kill Kaze'aze for the sake of all Bermesiah.

Now there are 3 heroes who have arrived to prove themselves and join the GrandChase.

Elesis, the young knight of Kanavan

Lire, The elven archer of Eryuel Island

Arme, A trainee from the violet mage guild

But are they really strong enough to defeat the evil that once threatened the entire continent of Bermesiah. This is their story.

* * *

Well that's the prologue for the story I promise in the future the chapters will be longer but this was just me giving you the story prologue straight from the Grand Chase website. In the next chapter the characters are actually going to meet.

A few quick notes since I removed the fore notes. I started this story back before even Jin was released in the north american versions and so he and Sieghart are in the story but not part of the main party and Mari is not in this story.


	2. The Trial Tower

OK so I have to say I apologize to the one guy who was actually waiting to see this, I'm sorry my final exams screw me up every year and my editor has his finals to, and I also got a new game which is stupidly addictive, managed to put it down finally, so now I can, finally, focus more time on my first fanfic but first

**Disclaimer: I do not own Grand Chase or any of the characters in it, Ntreev owns it all  
**_  
note: that anything italicized is thinking not speaking_

Also I changed some of the skill names throughout the fic they should be easy enough to figure out.

* * *

"To easy," the young, red haired, girl sitting in the castle muttered under her breath, "they actually call that forest a test; if that was the entrance requirement then Kaze'aze will be easy to kill."

"Do you really think so," asked the tall, blonde haired girl sitting next to her, "I don't think Kaze'aze will be quite so easy, especially at my current strength."

"None of us will be able to defeat her with our current strength," The short, violet haired girl sitting across the hall replied, "There isn't a chance of any of us going to Kaze'aze's castle and surviving."

"If that forest was the way they test new recruits then they must have really low standards," The red haired girl sneered at her, "I mean look, even you passed."

"Excuse me?" the violet haired girl fumed back.

"Now now we're all part of the GrandChase so lets not fight amongst each other," The blonde haired girl pleaded with the arguing girls.

"Shut up," the red haired girl said redirecting her anger towards the girl with blonde hair, "this is between me and this stupid mage!"

"Stupid mage?" the violet haired girl begins yelling, "It's you knights who are stupid, I'm a genius trainee in the violet mage guild and you're just some sword girl from who knows where."

"Where I'm from is none of your business!" she screamed back suddenly taking the defensive.

"Please you two stop arguing," the blonde haired girl pleaded, "It doesn't matter where you came from and it doesn't matter what your rank in the mage guild is, please just stop fighting."

"Stop this, all of you!" the girls turned to see a young woman with long blonde hair who was clad in crimson red armor with a sword at her side.

"And who are you to give me orders," the red haired girl asked

"I am Aurora, the knight master of the GrandChase organization," the young woman replied, "and you must be Elesis from Kanavan, I had heard you had a large ego but I wasn't expecting this." The violet haired girl began snickering under her breath, "and I suppose that makes you Arme from the violet mage guild of Ellia?" the knight master said, turning toward her, "From what I've heard you have been classified as a magic genius but you're immature for a seventeen year old girl," Arme stopped snickering and looked as though she was about to cry. "So I would assume that makes you Lire, correct?" she asks turning towards the blonde haired girl, "you're from the elven colony on Eryuel island I believe, and I have heard that you are very responsible and good natured," a slight blush moved across Lire's face.

"So your the knight master?" Elesis asked confidently, " you don't look that strong, I bet I could beat you." Elesis drew her sword. Within 5 seconds Aurora had Elesis pinned on the ground with her sword at Elesis' throat.

"Let me give you some advice about the GrandChase," Aurora began, "don't attempt battle against your superiors, you'll just get hurt."

"Damn you," Elesis said as Aurora removes her sword allowing Elesis to breath, "I promise that I'll get stronger and defeat you one day."

"I look forward to our sparring sessions in the future," Aurora answered, "now for the actual reason I called you all together, first I offer my congratulations on completing the first entrance test."

"First test?" Lire asked, "So then it would make sense that we have more tests to pass if we want to join the GrandChase, right?"

"Yes Lire," Aurora answered, "There is one more test, your first test was to move through a forest of the GrandChase's creating and defeat the enchanted trees we had placed inside. your second test is to climb the tower also constructed by the GrandChase, Living on the very top floor of this tower is a yeti named Wendy, your job is to defeat her."

"Still sounds easy," Elesis said still sulking about her loss, "but at least it'll be more of a challenge than that stupid forest."

"Actually this mission is to be carried out in your assigned teams, if you join the GrandChase all missions will be carried out in teams of three, the three of you have been grouped together for the 2nd portion of your test."

"What?" Arme screamed while pointing at Elesis, "you expect me to work together with HER?"

"I do," Aurora replied coolly, "Now the three of you get some rest. you will be directed to the tower tomorrow morning. you are expected to return with a horn from Wendy's head by dusk, is this understood?"

"Yes ma'am" Elesis replied mockingly. "I don't care what anyone says, I'm the leader of this team."

"No way," Arme argued, "If your our leader you'll lead us down the tower instead of up, it's always better to have a leader of high intelligence so I think I should lead."

"I agree Arme," Aurora said while covering Elesis' mouth, "the leader of a mission should have high intelligence but they must also be mature enough to think about what actions are best for both the mission and the safety of their team members. That is why the only candidate for leadership of your team is Lire, you are both to follow her orders, is this understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Arme and Elesis said in unison.

"Good," Aurora said, "a knight will be waiting outside the castle at dawn tomorrow, I suggest you be there if you wish to join the GrandChase. Dismissed!"

the 3 girls got very little sleep that night. Elesis and Arme because they were both to annoyed at Aurora, and Lire because she was to worried about the safety of her and the others. When the sun began to rise the only one still awake was Elesis who quietly left, planning to prove herself by finishing the test on her own. As she walked toward the castle entrance to find the guide, she ran into Knight Master Aurora.

"Elesis?" Aurora asked, "where are Lire and Arme"

"Don't ask me," Elesis replied while trying to look away from her, "I woke up and they were gone, I have no idea where they went. They're probably with the guide right now."

Aurora got a very stern look in her eyes. "Elesis you're as easy to read as an open book," Aurora told her, "Being confident is not a bad thing, but being overconfident will get you killed one day. Can you promise me that you will remember that?"

"Yes ma'am," Elesis replied as annoyed as always.

"Good then go wake up the other girls and hurry outside," Aurora ordered. Elesis ran back towards the girl's room. "_Elesis,"_ Aurora mentally sighed,_ "If only you knew the reason I have to be so hard on you girls, if only you knew your destinies, perhaps then you could understand."_

Elesis ran to wake up Lire and Arme and the three of them quickly rushed outside to meet their guide. They began a long walk from Serdin castle to a large tower in the distance.

"Welcome to the trial tower," the guard turned to the girls and said, "You've probably heard this already but your test is to climb to the top of the tower and defeat Wendy the yeti. You must then bring a horn from the top of her head back with you to prove that you have defeated her. No one has passed this test yet and several groups lost their lives, if you're not serious about wanting to protect Bermesiah I suggest turning around and returning to the castle now." None of the girls moved. "Good," the guide said, "now your test begins, good luck and return alive." The guard walked back down the trail towards the castle.

"I don't need you guys here," Elesis said snobbishly, "just stay out of my way, I'll leave you behind if you can't keep up. And don't you dare give me any orders," she threatened Lire. She walked into the tower alone.

"Wait Elesis," Lire hesitantly called after her, "you can't go alone! Wait for us, th-that's an order..." Lire grabbed Arme's hand and dragged her into the tower. They caught up with Elesis and the three walked together up a winding staircase. After a short time a small stone came from out of nowhere and hit Elesis, who is walking in lead of the group, on the back of the neck. She spun around.

"Who threw that?" she yelled at Lire and Arme, "I'll bet it was you Arme!"

"What are you talking about?" Arme yelled back at her, "I didn't do anything! what happened anyways?"

"Someone threw a rock at the back of my neck!" she screamed back.

_"Why are they always so on edge with each other?"_ Lire asked herself,_ "and who could have thrown that stone?" _Lire walked over to pick up the stone and then muttered something to herself. "Lets see, Elesis was standing here and the rock ricocheted at this angle to land here then the one who threw it is... I got it." Lire notched an arrow, turned around and pointed it towards the ceiling. Elesis and Arme watched the arrow fly to the ceiling. a small goblin fell and hit the stairs with a thud. "See Elesis, this thing is what hit you with that rock," Lire tp;d her, "now we're running out of time, we have to continue and we can't afford be fighting so apologize to Arme right now."

"Sorry," Elesis grunted at Arme while as kicked the goblins corpse, and thanks for finding this stupid thing Lire." Lire and Arme looked completely dumbfounded.

"Elesis just thanked someone?" Arme asked in disbelief.

"L-lets just keep going," Elesis said, blushing. Lire and Arme both giggled at Elesis before they followed her up the stairs.

The girls had been climbing for about a half-hour and were still nowhere close to the top where Wendy waited for them. "I thought this was supposed to be a test!" Elesis exclaimed, "all we've done is walk and walk and walk!"

"Calm down Elesis," Lire told her, "we did run into some monsters, were they not satisfying enough?"

"three goblins and two piles of blue goo is not my idea of a test!" Elesis yelled back, "and just how high is this tower maybe that stupid yeti will give me a challenge."

"Where did Arme go?" Lire asked.

"Stone curse!"

"I think I found her," Elesis said monotonely as she pointed further up the staircase at Arme who was standing in front of a group of goblin statues. Arme turned around and waved down at Lire and Elesis.

"Still think mages are worthless, Elesis?" Arme asked in a voice that said "I'm better than you"

"Arme watch out!" Lire screamed up at her. Arme turned around in time to see three goblins jump at her from the stairs above.

Arme screamed as she slammed her eyes shut and threw her arms over her head. Nothing happened and she slowly opened her eyes to see all three goblins sprawled on the ground, each with an arrow embedded between their eyes. "Lire?" Arme asked bewildered.

"When you're an archer you need to have very quick reflexes," Lire explained as she offered her hand to Arme, "It's a good thing I was here. Elesis didn't even realize I shot the arrows until you got up."

"Amazing," Arme muttered. She started crying and hugged Lire, "T-thank you Lire, you saved my life"

_"This girl is supposed to be seventeen?" _Lire asked herself as she comforted Arme, _"I can see why knightmaster Aurora called her immature"_

"Enough with the love fest," Elesis said looking disgusted, "we're here to kill a yeti so lets get back to climbing before we run out of time"

"Elesis is right," Lire said while Elesis attempted to pry Arme off of her, "we have to keep moving or we'll run out of time."

After climbing for two more hours the girls finally reached the top of the tower where they came across a large door.

"We can't go up any further," Lire said, "I guess Wendy is in here."

"gee how long did it take you to figure that one out?" Elesis asked mockingly.

"Hey! Don't insult Lire!" Arme yelled at Elesis.

"Thank you Arme," Lire began with an annoyed smile on her face, "but I can defend myself and could you please let go of my arm, I can't shoot arrows with you clinging to me like that."

"I'm sorry," Arme said.

"Let's go!" Elesis exclaimed as she shoved the door open.

The door swung open and the girls were surprised to find the room inside was entirely covered in ice and a large white monster was sitting in the corner. "That must be Wendy," Elesis said as she walked in, slipped, and landed on the floor. Arme giggled at Elesis and once again wrapped her arm around Lire's for support. Lire had a somewhat annoyed look on her face but she didn't ask her to let go. As they slowly approached the monster, hoping to defeat it before it noticed them, Arme slipped and fell dragging Lire, who grabbed Elesis, down with her. The three girls landed on the ground with a loud thud. When they got up Elesis began yelling at Arme for making them fall and Arme yelled back about how Elesis fell earlier. Lire instead began scanning the room because the first thing she noticed when she got up was that Wendy was no longer huddled in the corner as she was when they arrived. Lire notched an arrow preparing for the attack which was inevitably coming.

_"I have to divert her attention from Elesis and Arme,"_ Lire thought to herself, _"They're to distracted to fight right now."_ Lire closed her eyes and her ears began to twitch slightly, "_I can hear you!" _Lire swiftly pivoted on her heel firing an arrow towards the ceiling, hitting Wendy who has hiding among the icicles. Wendy released a deafening scream, clearly displaying the pain she felt from the arrow jutting from the side of her head. She quickly knocked the arrow out of her head, the arrowhead completely crimson. Wendy curled up and began to roll across the floor at an incredibly fast speed, so fast that there was no way Lire could move in time. Wendy collided with Lire sending her flying into the wall.

"Lire!" Arme yelled after she finally noticed that Lire was fighting Wendy.

"What? Oh no Lire!" Elesis exclaimed after Arme's outburst.

Lire slowly stood up, blood dripping from her body with every movement. "Elesis, Arme, she's strong," Lire panted, "please don't be careless and don't argue or we're all going to die."

"No way," Elesis replied adamantly, "I refuse to die and I refuse to let you die either Lire."

"I'm going to destroy you for hurting Lire!" Arme raged.

"_Whoa,"_Elesis thought somewhat frightened,"_When she gets attached to someone she **really** gets attached."_

"Stone Curse!" Arme yells spinning and pointing her wand at Wendy. Wendy was petrified and turned into a statue just like the goblins earlier in the tower but this time the stone began to come apart piece by piece. "Oh no!" Arme exclaimed, "Elesis move NOW!" The stone was broken to pieces and Wendy was left standing there completely unharmed. Elesis brought her sword up in front of her in defence and Arme began casting a magic shield around herself in preparation for Wendy's attack. Instead of attacking, however, Wendy instead reeled her head back and spat a stream of icy air at Elesis and Arme, freezing them in large blocks of ice.

Lire fired 5 arrows which curved as they flew, each embedding themselves in a different place along Wendy's back. Wendy let out another deafening scream and returned her attention to Lire. Lire, who could barely stand let alone run, closed her eyes and awaited the inevitable.

The ice around Elesis shattered. She managed to swing her sword just hard enough to release Arme and then fell to her knee panting.

"Lightning bolt!" Arme yelled. Wendy was stuck in place, paralyzed by Arme's lightning bolt. "Elesis do something!" Arme yelled franticky, "My lightning bolt isn't going to last much longer!"

Elesis ran forward, avoiding Arme's lightning bolt and began rapidly stabbing. After five or six stabs she jumped from the ground spinning and smashed Wendy on the top of her head, splitting it open.

Arme ran forward as quickly as she could, getting right underneath Wendy's legs and smashing her hands into the ground. "Fire storm!" 3 large pillars of fire appeared pushing Wendy upwards and throwing her into the air.

Lire notched an arrow and wuickly aimed for Wendy's exposed brain. she fired and the arrow embedded itself into the opening in Wendy's head causing blood to gush to the ground. Elesis ran forward to give Lire support for her injuries while Arme, reluctantly, attempted to detach a horn from Wendy's head

"We did it Lire!" Elesis exclaimed with heavy breaths.

"See I told you two we would be much stronger if you girls stopped fighting and worked together." Lire explained, speaking slowly, "do you girls understand what I mean now."

"Lire?" Arme began, "just because we work together doesn't mean we have to be nice to each other outside of missions right?" Lire burst out laughing at Arme's comment but stopped shortly after her injuries taking their toll.

"Sit down you two and let me gather my mana, I'll heal you." Arme spun around releasing energy in the form of small hearts which entered Lire and Elesis' bodies healing their wounds. "It isn't perfect but you should be able to walk on your own now."

"Wow Arme your amazing!" Lire exclaimed.

"Not bad," Elesis grunted annoyed once again.

"OK girls," Lire began as she walked towards the window, "It's time for us to get back to Serdin and meet up with the knight master to prove we completed the mission." Lire looked out the window and the smile on her face dropped.

"What's wrong Lire?" Elesis asked as she looked out the window. "What? There's smoke rising from Serdin, we have to get back there!"

"It'll take to long to walk back down the tower," Lire told them. "Arme do you have any magic that can help us?"

"I can get us down to the tower's first floor but I won't be able to take us any further," Arme explained, "we'll have to get back to Serdin on foot."

"Then we have to hurry," Elesis screamed frantically. Arme begins twirling her wand and the girls slowly disappeared.

* * *

Well not much to say here other than review, no flaming etc.. also I feel like I should thank frostclaw88 who gave me my first review and set the story to alert before I even got the first chapter out, thanks man I hope you'll stick with me.


	3. The orcs attack

To anyone who hasn't just started reading this, I am extremely sorry that it took me almost 2 months (probably more) to update this. I kept writing it but every time I wrote it my internet went screwy (my sister was screwing with the router) and I lost the data, after 3 times I had to cool down because I was ready to rip my laptop apart and I kinda forgot about it. then my laptop charger stops working the day after I remember and everyone else always wants the other computer and blah blah blah, ok forget about my excuses, I'm really sorry and I promise never to take that long ever again. However i'll probably take longer than I would if my laptop was still working.

and since I don't want to do these every chapter

**Disclaimer: For this and in all future chapters I don't own any of the character, ideas, areas etc. that are featured in the game they are all Ntreevs.**

That should be clear enough I guess anyways onward to the story

* * *

"Run faster Arme!" Elesis yelled back at the mage who was slowing down the other team members.

"I'm s-sorry." Arme panted, trying to move faster.

"what could have happened at the castle?" Elesis asked Lire.

"Good question," Lire replied, "I have no idea, but a plume of smoke rising from the castle can't be good, I hope Kaze'aze hasn't launched an attack, we're nowhere near ready yet." Elesis tried to hide her fear but it was clearly displayed on her face. "Elesis don't worry," Lire tried to comfort her while hiding her own fear, she knew she had to be strong for the other girls, especially Arme, who, in their short time at the tower, had become emotionally dependant on her. "Look!" Lire exclaimed as they reached the end of the trail, "the castle is burning!"

Arme finally caught up with the other girls in front of the castle. "W-what h-happened," she stuttered.

"Elesis, Lire, Arme!" The girls turned to see a wounded soldier coming towards them. "T-the orcs attacked!" He yelled frantically, "They only attacked with low ranking orcs but there were just to many of them."

"Where are they now," Elesis roared, "I don't care if they are monsters, this is unforgivable!"

"The Knightmaster and the elite members of the royal guards managed to push them back to the cities outer wall," He told them, "she ordered me to send you girls to her when you got back, please go and meet up with the Knightmaster, she's at the western side of the wall." The soldier collapsed just as two medics rushed out to collect him.

"The western side of the wall is the side that faces towards the orc temple," Lire explained, "it makes sense to set up defences there, but I wonder just what the orcs are thinking. They've always been stupid monsters who attack for no reason, but they've never done something this drastic before."

"It's the influence of Kaze'aze," Arme guessed.

"Maybe..." Lire mumbled, deep in thought, "but she's been around for 5 years so why would it only begin now?"

"Is that really what you should be worried about right now!" Elesis barked at her.

"You're right I shouldn't be thinking about it right now," Lire apologized. "Lets go girls we have to get to the wall and meet up with the knightmaster!"

"Yes ma'am!" they answered together before the three girls went rushing out the western gate. The girls arrived at the wall very shortly but they couldn't see any orcs or knights anywhere.

'Where is everyone?" Arme inquired cautiously walking forward, "Didn't that knight say that the knightmaster and her men would be here?"

"Yes, he did," Elesis answered, "so where could they be?"

Lire cupped her hands around her mouth, "Aurora! Knightmaster Aurora! Is anyone there!"

"Ha ha ha look what we have here," a deep, gruff voice behind the girls said, "three more humans for tonight's dinner."

"What? but they're such cute little girls," a second deep voice said mockingly, "we should keep these ones as pets."

"Oh look at that," The first voice answered, "I think they want to fight." The girls had spun around to find the two having the conversation was a pair of orcs holding simple wooden clubs. The girls already had their weapons ready and were waiting for the orcs first move. The orcs simply laughed as the ground beneath the girls began to shake knocking all three of them off balance.

"My sword!" Elesis exclaimed frantically, "Dammit!"

"Ha ha ha," the girls turned their heads to see a giant orc with a very large hammer swung over his shoulder standing directly over them. "How did you like my little quake girls," He taunted, "Aren't you three cute little things, I'm going to enjoy eating you up later, Ha ha ha."

"Dammit to hell," Elesis cursed, "But I don't get it, I heard that orcs are barely smart enough to speak let alone think of making a distraction before attacking."

"Your right," Lire answered, "Their plan may have been very simple but it was still a plan, there isn't any way orcs should have been able to come up with it, under normal circumstances that is."

"Normal circumstances?" Elesis questioned confused, "You don't mean Kaze'aze has something to do with this, do you?"

"Most likely," Lire answered.

"Hm, so what are you two talking about?" The giant orc asked sick of listening to them drone on, "wait a second, there's only two girls here where's the third?" A mischievous grin appeared on Lire's face.

"What's happening?" Elesis asked confused.

"Stone Curse!"

"What the hell!" The giant orc yelled as he spun around to see a wave of energy coming at him. He lifted up his hammer in defense but just before the wave hit him one of the clubs that the smaller orcs had been carrying flew in front of the energy wave, turning it to stone.

"Thank you little girl," The orc mocked as he walked over and picked up his club, "This will do a lot more damage than it ever would've while it was still wood, how about I test it on your cute, little, blonde friend here. The orc took the club in both hands swinging it up behind his head. Lire slammed her eyes shut and braced herself but the blow never came, she slowly opened her eyes to see the orc still holding the club, with a thick icicle protruding from his forehead. The girls and the remaining orcs looked around trying to find the source of the icicle, but there was no one to be seen. Suddenly the second of the smaller orcs collapsed with an enormous gash in his back, behind him stood Aurora, along with 10 knights.

"Sorry about that girls," Aurora apologized, "The leader refused to show himself so when we saw you coming we decided we could use you as bait."

"Bait!" Elesis was angry now, "Lire was almost killed dammit"

"But she wasn't, was she."

"Ha. ha. ha." The orc leader laughed slowly, "so you got rid off a couple of my men, there are plenty more where they came from. Orcs! Show yourselves!" Thousands of orcs poured out of the forest surrounding the wall. "Ahahahaha," The orc leader laughed hysterically, "now you will all die!" The knightmaster held her arm out pointing her open palm at the orc leader and his legs began turning to ice. "What the hell?" The orc leader yelled bewildered. The knightmaster then placed her hand on the ground and swung it upwards, creating a thick wall of ice between the forest and the wall. All three girls were speechless.

"Now girls," The knightmaster began, "do you have a horn with you?"

"Oh right I almost forgot," Arme exclaimed pulling it out of her bag.

"Good work girls," The knightmaster congratulated them, "Now it is time for your first mission, While me and my men fend of the orc army I need you girls to hurry to the orc temple and defeat the orc lord, if he falls then all the orcs should fall back." "I would go myself but leaving 10 knights to fight thousands of orcs is a bad idea, I'm needed here."

"What?" Lire questioned, "You want us to defeat the orc lord, I don't wish to question your good judgment ma'am but we barely survived the inititaion test and you know what would have happened had you not been here. I don't think that the three of us are ready for such a big job."

"Then I suggest you get ready," Aurora replied smugly, "I have given you your mission, now accomplish it. If you're not ready then you will die." The girls were very disconcerted at this statement and had no way to reply. _"They look shaken, perhaps I shouldn't have used those exact words but we waited to long before we started their training, no choice remains to us other than pushing them to the brink of death in order to pull out their true potential. _Girls go quickly! my wall is going to shatter any minute now, hurry to the orc temple and destroy the orc lord!"

"Y-yes ma'am," Elesis stuttered, "A-as you command. Let's go you guys, everyone back at Serdin is counting on us."

"Your right, Elesis" Arme agreed, "let's go we have to stop the orcs once and for all!" The girls jumped off the western side of the wall and began running as fast as they could to the orc temple.

"Phew, they're finally gone," Aurora said to no one in particular.

"No matter how strong you are you can't beat my thousands of orc troops with just 10 knights," The orc leader was back to his smug self again, "Just give up and I'll think about letting you be my slave instead of my meal."

"Do you know the reason you're still alive right now?" Aurora asked him, "You're still alive so that I could show you something interesting before the life drains from that disgusting face." Aurora snapped her fingers. All that could be heard for several minutes afterwards were shrieks on the other side of the wall.

"W-what happened?" The orc leader managed to spit out after the sounds had finally died down. Aurora snapped her fingers again and the wall of ice shattered. The only thing on the other side were thousands upon thousands of orc corpses lying on the frozen ground.

"Now do you understand my power?" Aurora questioned as she drew her sword, "don't bother answering that, I don't really care about the knowledge held by those who are soon to die."

* * *

"So this is the orc temple?" Elesis muttered while looking up at the large building. The temple was chiseled from a mountain and decorated with human, elf, and orc skulls.

"This is one of the many reasons I hate orcs," Lire stated sadly, "They have no respect for the dead, whether it is the dead of their race or another."

"It's ok Lire," Arme took her hand and tried to cheer her up, "that's why were here, right? were gonna make sure those orcs are gone from this world for good."

"Yes, your right."

"Something wrong, Lire?" Elesis asked concerned.

"Orcs killed my older brother," Lire answered sadly, "before we formed the colony on Eryuel Island my clan was attacked by the orcs. we lost over half of our people including my brother and parents. The person who took care of me and taught me how to use a bow was my brothers fiance, we promised that one day we would come back and destroy the orcs. Honestly she was the only thing that kept my hatred alive and when she disappeared my hatred for the orcs did as well." As Lire spoke she grew angrier and angrier, "But now that I'm here I can feel that hatred bubbling up from the deepest part of my heart. Elesis, Arme I have a request, when we finally meet the master of the orcs please don't interfere, I have to face him alone if I ever want to truly move on, and I want to keep the promise I made with Yuria.

"Yuria?" Elesis asked, surprised, "Did she ever mention a man named Eiau"

"How did you know that?"

"He was my father," Elesis explained, "He was dispatched as a tracker, but he never returned. He would always tell me about a beautiful elven archer whom he travelled with when he was younger, her name was Yuria."

"Wow, I guess the world is filled with crazy coincidences."

"Maybe," Arme muttered, "Elesis did you say your fathers name was Eiau?"

"Yes, Why?"

My master, the man who found me and brought me to the violet mage guild told me stories about travelling with a powerful swordsman by that name," Arme told them. "His name was Urashin."

"Yes, my father told me off a great sage named Urashin." Elesis answered bewildered.

"Yuria also spoke of a powerful spirit caller name Urashin," Lire added.

"One day master Urashin said that he heard the spirits calling him and left to climb the mountains near the guild," Arme grew sad, "H-he never came back down and no matter how hard we looked we could never find his body."

"Now that you mention it," Lire grew sad as well, "Yuria just disappeared We never actually found a body."

"My father's body was never recovered either," Elesis told them in a monotone voice, "But until now I had always just assumed it was because he was killed in Kaze'aze's castle."

"So the three of us are connected by our former guardians, who all disappeared without a trace!" Arme exclaimed suddenly realizing how significant her master's disappearance may actually be.

"It's so perfect I can't believe it to actually be a coincidence," Lire stated.

"Whatever," Elesis spat suddenly sounding very angry, "I don't care whether or not there's some connection between my father and your guardians, I don't care if it holds some significance, I prefer to not think about my father at all. We're here to stop the orcs from attacking Serdin, the knightmaster is probably having trouble keeping thousands of orcs away so we have to hurry.

"Elesis... I'm sorry if I forced back any painful memories and your right we should be stopping the orcs." Lire said softly while pulling Elesis into her embrace. Arme noticed Elesis was tearing up but decided she would leave it alone knowing she would be the same if she had bottled up all her emotion since master Urashin had disappeared. Elesis Let Lire hold her for no more than a few seconds before pushing her off and opening the door to the orc temple. Lire and Arme looked at each other for a moment, shook their heads and followed after Elesis.

The girls walked through room after room without encountering a single orc.

"I guess they were all sent to the wall," Lire commented after 4 rooms of silence.

"It seems that way," Arme answered. Arme had her arms wrapped around Lire's as usual. "It's creepy in here, why do orcs decorate everything with skulls."

"Because they're evil, uncivilized brutes," Elesis growled.

"Elesis why are so angry at us!" Arme yelled at her, "we didn't do anything!"

"I'm not angry at you." Elesis' reply was surprisingly calm, "I'm angry at myself for not being strong enough to go with my father and protect him. I'm angry at myself for not being able to save my mother when she fell ill. I'm upset that because of our discussion outside made these memories come back, but I'm not angry at either of you."

"Elesis." Lire began, "Don't force things like that down and try to forget about them it will only cause you pain later. When your sad, cry, and when your happy, smile, but never try to throw your emotions away and forget things like that, from now on when you have problems you have to deal with them in a healthier way. Come to me if you need help." Elesis just stood there motionless.  
Lire spoke softly, "Elesis that's an order." Elesis dropped to her knees and broke into tears. Arme also looked as though she was about to start crying. "It's ok Arme, go ahead." Arme started crying. Lire also wanted to cry, but she did her best to keep her composure for the sake of her friends.

"Lire, Thank you" Elesis smiled at Lire as she wiped her eyes.

"Thanks Lire," Arme said as she stood up.

"Why on earth were you crying anyways," Elesis asked angrily.

"Well when you started talking about your mom and dad it made me remember that I never had parents," Arme begins, "But then I remembered the master found me and treated me like his daughter and then I remembered the day after he disappeared and I just started..." Arme sobbing again though not as strongly as before.

"I'm sorry Arme," Elesis apologized, bowing her head, "I didn't know."

"_I guess even Elesis can be like that sometimes," _Lire thought. "This is good you two, After we're done with our mission in here we need to get to know more about each other, it will help us understand our strengths and weaknesses as a team and help us to grow closer so that we can **Stop Fighting**." The girls started laughing at each other and all the sadness just began to melt away.

"This was good for us, I think," Elesis stated, "But next time lets do it on a day off and not during a mission."

"Agreed!" Lire and Arme said together."

The girls talked about themselves through the rest of the, many, empty rooms, They told each other their fears, ambitions and grew as friends. Finally the girls came upon a room with two orcs who looked like the orc leader they had met back at the wall except they were only a thrid of his size. the orcs were standing in front of a large door with their hammers ready.

"they're just guards," Elesis smiled, "it's about time we got some action. Lire stand back and leave this to me and Arme."

"Yeah," Arme agreed, "I'll bet you anything the orc lord is on the other side of that door and you need to conserve your strength."

"Elesis, Arme thank you." Lire lowered her bow and stepped back to the door which the girls had come through.

"Aw look two little girls wanna fight us," The first orc guard provoked them, "You just sit back buddy, It won't take more than a minute."

"Your right," the second orc stated in a much more composed voice, "this battle will be finished in less than one minute."

"Hey there you cute little girls," The first orc, now standing very close, taunted, "You come to be our afternoon snack." The orc started laughing hysterically

"How is that funny," Arme asked Elesis.

"No idea, But I'm already sick of it lets take him down."

"Just try it."

Elesis jumped forward swinging her sword down with force as the orc brought up his hammer and blocked. Elesis released a flurry of sword attacks each of which was easily absorbed by the orc. The orc began laughing again. A wide smile broke across Elesis' face as she jumped behind Arme.

"Lightning bolt," A large bolt of lightning lept from Arme's hands and shocked the orc who was clearly in tremendous pain. Elesis jumped forward again this time stabbing the orc 3 times before bringing her sword down on his head. The orc fell on the ground face first. Elesis placed her sword by his neck, slammed her foot down on his head and in one clean motion the orcs head was taken off. an odd sound started to fill the room, it sounded like someone slowly clapping their hands. they turned to see the second orc walking towards them while clapping his hands.

"56 seconds," the orc stated, "as I told him the battle would be over in under one minute, and as I predicted, his head rolled." Elesis quickly raised her sword and entered a fighting stance. "Before we fight I would like to thank you young ladies, I was sick of listening to this idiot's nonsense. However you should rest assured that I will not be so easy to defeat, You will not be able to defeat me because unlike him I will not underestimate you and I will not leave myself open. His power was born from pride and malice, but my power stems from a different source a much more powerful source."

_"What the hell" _Lire thought _"That orc is talking intelligently, there's no way he'll go down as easily as his partner did, we won't stand a chance of all three of us don't fight together."_

Lire notched an arrow and began running out to join her friends.

"Lire don't," Elesis Yelled back to her, "conserve your strength. don't worry we can handle him, I promise." Lire stared at Elesis for a moment before nodding and lowering her bow again. "Ready Arme?"

"Whenever you are, but be careful this guy seems much smarter than his partner."

"Yeah I agree, this day is just full of surprises isn't it."

* * *

An intelligent orc, is that even possible? And do Arme and Elesis stand a chance? Who knows, you'll have to read the next chapter to find out.


	4. The last orc

Well I'm back with another chapter, sorry sorry sorry I know this took forever but writers block and all that luckily since I couldnt come up with anything I ended getting ideas and some plans for the next 3 or so chapters so they'll come much much quicker.

Well enjoy, review and everything else I'm supposed to say here.

* * *

Lire didn't know what was going on, she came with Elesis and Arme to the orc temple so she could fight the orc lord and now there's an intelligent orc blocking their way. The orc was staring down Elesis and Arme but then turned to Lire.

"You're an elven child," the orc stated, "I can only assume you are one of the survivors of our attack on the forest 10 years ago. Allow me to apologize, for what little it is worth, I was opposed to the idea of attacking your forest from the very beginning but I was not strong enough to prevent it."

"An orc wants to apologize to me?" Lire questioned angrily, "Did you actually think I'd accept such a thing, I don't want your damned apology, I want your leader's head!" Elesis and Arme were surprised hearing Lire talk like that.

The orc laughed at Lire, "I see, so you won't except my apology, then allow me to make my own type of amends." The orc smashes his hammer on the ground and the door behind him opens. "The lord is just beyond here, I will not stop you but if I could I would like to ask a favor."

"What the hell do you want?" Lire spat angrily.

"Plain and simple I want you to kill the lord," The orc said seriously, "I simply ask that you do not lose."

"Why the hell would an orc ask for that?" Lire asked cautiously.

"I don't like the orcs mindset," The orc told her, "it's as simple as that." Lire walked slowly towards the door, making sure to keep her eyes on the orc. The door slammed shut immediately after she walked through. The orc sighed, "Well now that she's gone, we can finally start our match."

"Why?," Elesis asked, "after everything you just said why do you still want to fight? Why don't you come with us instead?"

"I am a monster," the orc explained, "I would love to come with you girls and fight alongside you but, no matter how long we fight together, you humans would one day turn on me."

"I don't turn on my allies," Elesis stated, insulted.

"Maybe not," The orc said monotonely, "But can you say the same for every single human that you fight alongside, can you promise me that one of your allies wouldn't stab me in the back."

"No, we can't," Arme inserted, turning to Elesis, "Think about it, Elesis, no offence to him but there would be many troops who would leave if we brought back an orc and we may even lose Kanavan as an ally, do you really want to take that risk?"

"Damn."

The orc sighed, "yes not only would I be in danger but I would cause undue troubles for anyone who accepts me. I don't want either of those."

"I'm glad I got the chance to speak with you," Elesis told him, "I thought that all monsters were evil before I met you, but you've shown me that anyone, regardless of who they are or what they are can be good."

"Agano," he replied, "That is the name I have given myself, if I am to die here I ask that you not forget me, I don't want to be remember as just another nameless brute."

"Elesis."

"Arme."

"I will not forget you." Agano laid down his hammer and walked over to the wall. He threw his fist through the wall and pulled out a large sword made of sharpened bones. "It sickens me to fight using the bones of other beings but I had nothing else." Agano sighed and took a fighting position, Elesis and Arme took their fighting positions as well.

* * *

Lire walked cautiously through the hallway. The walls were decorated with weapons on makeshift display shelves. "_He must display the weapons of people he kills, twisted bastard. _The hallway was long and the wall was decorated with,axes, swords, lances, staves and a large number of bows, Lire felt her heartbeat quicken. Lire finally reached the end of the hall to find a large room with a throne at the back, sitting on the throne was a giant orc with black hair down to his shoulders and pulled up in a ponytail above his head.

"Who are you?" he asked menacingly.

"I'm Lire, from Eryuel island," Lire responded slowly

"Eryuel island?" The orc asked, "oh, that's right you elves fled there when we destroyed you." Lire's rage intensified. "You weaklings couldn't even defend yourselves, it was so fun watching you all die under my foot."

"Damn you to hell!" Lire screamed viciously.

"Oh, how scary," The orc mocked, "Why don't I show you something before you die. look behind me, this is a special wall where I only keep the weapons taken from elves."

Lire looked up and her heart caught in her throat. A red battle axe was on one of the shelves, on another was a black one and also a thin bow made from interwoven branches. "Those are the weapons my family used," Lire managed to stutter out, tears in her eyes. The orc lord laughed. "Bastard, you damned bastard, I always tried to believe that somewhere, somehow they were still alive. But I can't delude myself like that now that I've seen the proof with my own eyes. I'm going to kill you, you Bastard!

"You, Can, Try." The orc lord taunted, slowly.

* * *

Arme was watching Elesis and Agano grind their swords together, waiting for an opportunity to launch a spell. "_Dammit," _Arme thought_"Agano is making sure that Elesis is always the one facing me, he's a lot smarter than other orcs. _Arme tried to circle the two swordfighters in an attempt to get a clean shot at Agano but Agano circled with her making sure she could never hit him.

"Your good," Agano told Elesis, "Even I underestimated your strength and I always overestimate everyone."

"You overestimate everyone?" Elesis asked as they parted and smashed into each other again, "You seem like the type who could gauge anyone's strength properly."

"I have a slight problem which always makes me think that my opponents are stronger than they actually are."

"A problem?" Elesis asked as she broke away from Agano and created distance between them.

"That problem is the same thing that makes me so much stronger than other orcs."

"Doesn't sound like a problem to me," Elesis replied.

"It may make me stronger but it also prevents me from living freely."

"Just what is it?"

"I may tell you, if you can beat me."

"I have a feeling that it won't be so easy."

"I will be sure to make it difficult, and don't think for a moment that I do not realize what you are doing." Agano spun around slamming the hilt of the sword in Arme's stomach, knocking her out. "I refuse to lose!"

Elesis charged him again and swung her sword down hard. "I'm sorry Agano, but I have to fight you with all my strength because I don't want to lose here either."

"I would expect no less," Agano said calmly as he applied more power to his blade pushing Elesis to the ground. Agano walked towards Elesis, raising his blade. "I expected more from you. I thought you would've lasted longer than that.

"I guess I lose," Elesis said solemnly as she struggled to her feet, "Agano, do you mind telling me where your power comes from?"

"I suppose you deserve that," Agano decided without dropping his sword. "My power does not stem from the hatred and agression that the other orcs get their power from. My power stems from fear, the fear of death. I am always scared for my life, I don't want my life to end and that is where my power comes from. I have this power only for the sake of protecting my own life. Not for justice, not to protect others, simply so I can live."

"I see," Elesis stated simply, "So that is why your power was so much larger than that of the other orc we fought."

"Tell me, Elesis, where does your power come from."

"My power," Elesis zoned out and went deep into thought, "I just want to be stronger, I don't, or didn't, want to lose, that's all."

"A weak power to be sure, not quite as weak as the other orcs but no match for myself. I shall finish this in one blow, Elesis."

"Yeah, thanks." Agano lifted his sword above his head and began to swing down.

"Firebolt!" A fireball came flying across the room and hit Agano square in the back. Agano grimaced and turned around to see Arme standing and panting heavily. Agano looked completely unfazed, "Quickly Elesis grab your sword!" Elesis rolled across the ground grabbing her sword and getting back into fighting position.

"Arme!" Elesis screamed across the room, "I have no chance of overpowering him and if I try to hold him still again he'll just circle like last time."

"Don't worry Elesis, I have a plan just go back to trying to overpower him, you'll win this time."

"Oh really," Agano spat sounding very cocky, "Well then I'll just have to test this new power which she has miraculously attained."

"I'm trusting you Arme, I better not end up in pieces after this."

Elesis and Agano started grinding their swords together again and, once again, Agano began overpowering Elesis.

"Let's see if he can still handle you after this," Arme said very calmly, "Athena's sword!"

Energy began swirling around elesis taking the shape of a pair of crossed swords which etched themselves into her forehead. Suddenly the power struggle turned and Agano was the one being pushed back. Elesis continued applying more and more of her newfound strength as Agano applied as much strength as he could. The two opposing forces became so much that Agano's sword cracked under the pressure and fell to pieces. Agano let out a low, calm laugh.

"As I predicted," he stated sadly, "I lose."

"You knew we were going to win," Elesis queried, completely lost.

"Of course, it's just like you said, I'm the type who can guage my opponents strength perfectly, if I had fought either of you one-on-one, I would not have lost."

"So you fought us, knowing you would lose?" Arme asked.

"Indeed, I decided a long time ago that no matter what I would fight. I decided that even though I could predict a battle's outcome I would not just lie down and die. I would give my opponent a battle which would ensure that they never forget me."

"Leave," Elesis commanded while pointing to the door, "Go, I won't kill you."

"If you let me go then I may come back to haunt you one day."

"Then we'll fight again and, if we do, I promise I will strike you down."

Agano stood up and walked towards the door. He stopped in the doorway, turned around and, without a single word. punched the wall opening the door to the orc lord. He then silently turned and left.

Arme collapsed. Elesis knelt down next to her, "Arme what's wrong?"

"Don't worry to much, it hurt when I got hit in the stomach and that last spell takes a lot out of me."

"Yeah I would assume, that extra strength was incredible."

Arme sighed, "Just let me rest for awhile, then we can go help Lire, ok?"

* * *

Lire was crouching on one of the shelves lining the walls of the throne room. The orc lord stood in the center waiting for Lire to make a move. Lire was panting heavily as she notched an arrow and faced the orc lord.

"Tell me something," Lire screamed to him, "Why did you attack the elven forest? what good did that bring you?"

"What good," The orc lord laughed, "Simple enjoyment, of course." all sadness disappeared from Lire's face and was replaced with rage. She jumped from the shelf and charged toward the orc lord, jumped above his head and smashed her heel into his skull. The orc lord jumped back while rubbing his head and letting Lire fall to the ground. "You have respectable strength, for an elf."

"Bastard, I hope you've made your peace with the gods!" Lire yelled to him as she quickly fired an arrow into his arm. The orc lord reached up and pulled the arrow out without the slightest hint of pain. Lire quickly notched and fired 4 arrows, one after another, each one embedding itself in one of the orc lord's limbs. The orc lord flexed and all the arrows flew out of him, barely missing Lire as they flew by.

"Are you done yet?" the orc lord asked mockingly, "Then it's my turn." the orc lord raised him hammer above his head and smashed it into the ground. The ground began to shake though not as violently as it had when the other orcs had caused their quakes. the quake intensified around lire as groups of sharp stones flew out of the ground. Lire jumped back to avoid them but as she landed another group flew up from the ground knocking her to her feet and causing her to drop her bow. The orc lord jumped forward and smashed his hammer down crushing Lire's bow.

"_No, my bow." _Lire stood up. She looked up at the orc lord who was looming over her, his hammer at the ready.

"You lose," the orc snarled, "You should have known that someone like you could never defeat me. The humans were foolish to send you here and now I will have to leave my temple and destroy their little city." The orc lord laughs hysterically.

"No you bastard! I won't allow that!"

The orc lord laughed again, "It's amusing that you actually think you have the ability to stop me." The orc lord stopped laughing and looked forward, but Lire was gone. "What the hell, where did you go!" the orc lord screamed as he looked around the entire room. From one of the shelves up above an arrow came flying down and embedded itself in the orc lords face, just to the right of his left eye. The orc lord grabbed his face and keeled back in pain. He looked up and saw Lire standing on the shelf holding a blue and purple bow. Lire jumped from the shelf and fired another arrow hitting the orc lord's left cheek. the orc lord was enraged, he turned and smashed the floor shooting up groups of sharp stones again.

"Don't you ever do anything new?" Lire sneered as she dropped the bow and jumped up to a new shelf. After the rocks stopped coming, she jumped back down to the ground grabbing a bow made of polished black steel. She notched and fired another arrow which hit the orc lord's stomach. The orc lord quickly swung his hammer at Lire, who dropped the bow and jumped over the hammer, pushed off the wall and landed on the other side of the orc lord. She quickly knelt down and grabbed a small, white bow. She jumped to the side avoiding another hammer swing and notched two arrows. As soon as the orc lord spotted her she let the arrows loose each one embedding itself in one of the orc lord's eyes. The orc lord grabbed his face and reeled back in pain. Lire, once again, dropped the bow and ran to a pile of rubble in the corner of the room and started digging through it.

"Yes I finally found what I was looking for!" Lire pulled the bow made of interwoven branches out of the pile of rubble. "It's time you disappeared! this bow belonged to my mother, who you killed! now I'll end your life with it!" Lire aimed the bow at the orc lord, who was flailing around in pain, and notched her last arrow. "I'll destroy you! no matter what!" The bow began to glow with a great energy. The light coming from the bow grew brighter and brighter as Lire pulled the bowstring back farther. The orc lord flailed around holding his hands over his eyes. Lire released the arrow and a large stream of energy flew from the bow and collided with the orc lord`s neck, searing his disgusting, green flesh. After the energy dissipated, the orc lord fell to the ground, motionless. Lire walked over to the orc lord and looked over his body. arrows littered his body including one in each eye and there was no arrow in his neck just a large hole. "That's what happens to anyone who messes with my happiness, you bastard."

"Lire, that was amazing!" Lire turned to see Arme and Elesis running towards.

"What was that, how did you do it," Elesis asked very interested in what she just saw.

"I don't really know," Lire admitted, "all I know is that I grabbed this bow, which used to belong to my mother, and it just happened."

"So it was probably an enchanted weapon," Arme suggested.

"Yes," Lire agreed, "that's the most likely conclusion."

"Can I ask something," Elesis butted in, "Why do we always start talking about useless stuff when we should be getting back to the knightmaster and telling her that we completed our mission." The girls all laughed. Before leaving, Lire dug through the rubble pulling out the axes used by her father and brother. She laid them out next to each other, folded her hands and chanted a short prayer. Afterwards the girls left the temple and headed back to the wall.

* * *

The knights at the wall explained how they had been fighting a losing battle against the orc army and if the girls had taken a moment longer to kill the orc lord, they would probably be dead. The knights took the girls back to Serdin castle where there was a great feast waiting in celebration of the destruction of one of the kingdoms greatest adversaries. Elesis, Arme and Lire sat at the end of the table along with the knightmaster and the young Queen of Serdin.

"An intelligent orc? Is that really possible?" As Elesis and Arme told the knightmaster about Agano, Lire spoke to the queen.

"I'm sorry we sent you to the orc temple." The queen apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Lire reassured her, "I only managed to find peace with myself because of it and I found this as well." Lire held up her mother's bow.

"Lire it's beautiful."

"It belonged to my mother, I only managed to survive thanks to this."

The festivities went on for hours. Slowly the knights peeled off one by one and headed back to their barracks. Just as the girls were getting ready to leave a soldier came rushing into the ballroom.

"Knightmaster! Come quick please, the town is under attack!"

"Elesis, Lire, Arme, With me! You, go and get the knights, they've retired to the barracks!" Aurora rushed out the door and the girls followed.

* * *

Aurora, Elesis, Lire and Arme arrived in the town at the foot of the castle to see everything falling apart. The citizens were running frantically to the castle.

"What happened here?" Aurora asked an old woman as she ran by them.

"The town was attacked, there was only one, a young boy. He was wearing white clothes, had silver hair and a dagger in each hand." As soon as she had finished the old lady resumed her mad dash to the castle.

"Girls stay together, don't get seperated and search the city." Aurora split off from the girls and continued to search on her own. The girls scoured the city looking for the attacker but could find no one.

"Where the hell could he have gone?" Elesis asked clearly upset.

"I'm more concerned with who has enough power to cause this much destruction," Lire inserted.

"Has to be a goon of Kaze'aze's," Arme insisted.

"Agreed, but where the hell could he have gone," Elesis asked.

"Hi there little girls," a woman's voice mocked them from behind. The girls spun around quickly but no one was behind them, "No no I'm over here." the girls spun again but no one was there. The voice giggled as a young silver haired boy jumped down in front of them. "I'm right here," although he was a boy his voice was clearly that of a woman.

"Who are you," Lire demanded.

"Oh I'm sure you know my name, just think about for a little while."

Arme drew back looking scared, "A-are you Kaze'aze."

The boy giggles and clapped his hands, "Yes, yes she got it."

"I thought Kaze'aze was a woman," Elesis claimed, bewildered.

"She's probably possesed him," Lire told her.

Kaze'aze giggled again, "Right again, little girl." Elesis drew her sword and took a fighting stance. Kaze'aze laughed hysterically. "Are you really sure you want to fight me, daughter of Eiau." Elesis was speechless. "Oh did I bring up some painful memories," Kaze'aze giggled again, "I have to say it was oh so enjoyable watching him bleed on the ground. Why I still remember the exact moment that my attack pierc-"

"Kaze'aze stop," Aurora jumped down blocking Kaze'aze's path to the girls.

"Well well, I haven't seen you in some time Kat-a-leen." Kaze'aze mocked, stretching out each syllable in Kateleen.

"Don't call me that! I threw that name away years ago!" Aurora was enraged, which, the girls thought, was very out of character for her.

"Oh Kataleen, don't you like me anymore," Kaze'aze said, blowing her a kiss.

"I never liked you."

"Tell me, do you really think Faren would be happy knowing you've chosen to live your life like this. I thought you made a promise with him."

"Shut up dammit!" Aurora yelled as tears formed in her eyes. "You're not worthy to let his name escape your lips!" Aurora dropped to her knees, sobbing.

"Oh my, it seems I struck a nerve, Kataleen," Kaze'aze walked over and placed her foot on the top of Aurora's head. "I still remember, so vividly, the last time you were under my boot like this." Kaze'aze laughed hysterically. "Do memories of that man really bring you such pain, I know how you can be with him again, but I'm not nice enough to take your life for you."Kaze'aze removed her foot from Aurora's head and looked at the girls. "The only reason I'm here, Kataleen, is to examine the heroes you have chosen. Elesis charged Kaze'aze but Kaze'aze deflected the sword with her knife and kicked Elesis' stomach hard, dropping her to the ground. Arme turned and tried to run away but Kaze'aze appeared in front of her, grabbed her by the neck and threw her into a crumbling building. Lastly she appeared in front of Lire, who was frozen with fear, and ran the tip of her knife along Lire's throat.

"I must say, Kataleen, you have very bad taste in heroes, not that I was expecting much considering the last hero you chose was Faren." Aurora jumped up, enraged, and charged Kaze'aze with her sword drawn. Kaze'aze caught Aurora's blade with her knife. "Goodbye Kataleen, your heroes aren't even worth killing, though I may be back for you one day." Kaze'aze disappeared without a sound. Shortly after the knights arrived. They took Elesis and Arme back to the barracks as Lire went to speak to Aurora.

"Lire, I can't do this anymore. Tomorrow morning, bring Elesis and Arme to the throne room. I think it's time you learned the truth... about yourselves."

* * *

Show of hands who here absolutely despises writers block because I can say that I do as well now. Well anyways you can expect the next few chapters much faster because I managed to plan them out a bit while I was trying to write this.

All that's left to say is review because I really would like to know what the people reading this think.


	5. Lire, Arme and the gorgos

Ok here's the next chapter, a little shorter than the others but you need a short chapter sometimes.

Enjoy

* * *

It was the morning after the attack. In the town the citizens, with the aid of the knights, were hard at work rebuilding whatever they could. Up in the castle, however, great truths were soon to be revealed. All of the throne room guards had been dismissed and inside the throne room was the queen of Serdin, Knightmaster Aurora, Elesis, Arme and Lire.

Aurora was first to speak, "As you three know, you are currently members of the Grand Chase, an organization started by Serdin in partnership with Kanavan. Can one of you tell me what the purpose of the Grand Chase is."

"To raise an army strong enough to destroy the evil that plagues our world." Arme answered quickly.

Aurora shook her head, "That is the reason released to the public but the true reason was to protect and train the three of you."

"Protect and train us?" Elesis asked, "Why us? what's so special about us?"

"I will explain," The queen said. "Many years ago, when my mother still sat on the throne, a powerful seer came to see us. He spoke of a great evil that would ensnare the Ellia continent and launch attacks at the rest of the world. He also spoke of a group of warriors, warriors chosen by destiny to defeat this great evil."

"Then you're saying that the three of us are that chosen group?" Lire questioned.

"How do you even know that his powers were real?" Arme asked.

"At first we did not trust him, we ignored his prophecies but slowly they began to come true. He predicted that 10 years ago the orcs would attack and defeat the elves and he also predicted that the kanavanian queen's advisor would be turned into a puppet for the dark force. It was after these events that we decided to believe him. He told us of a girl who would be orphaned when her father left to battle the evil, because of this we watched the daughters of any trackers dispatched. Elesis, you were the only one completely orphaned due to Kaze'aze, therefore we believe he spoke of you. Secondly he told us of a juvenile elven girl who was orphaned in the orcs attack and fled to Eryuel island. Lire of all the elves who fled to Eryuel island, you were the only female young enough to fit the description and so we decided that you must be who he spoke off. The only thing he told us of the third child was that he would become her guardian and send her to us when the time came. We believe that the third child is Arme for she is the only one who has ever appeared before us with any connection to master Urashin."

Arme laughed, "Master Urashin said all that? If it was him then there's no way it isn't true."

"So you're telling me that we're supposed to fight and defeat Kaze'aze? just the three of us?" Elesis asked softly, sounding somewhat scared.

"No Elesis," Aurora told her reassuringly, "The evil was already beginning to take hold of the world when we asked for the prophecy about the heroes. His connection to the spirits had weakened and his prophecy became clouded. he was able to tell us that there are four more warriors who will fight alongside you. If only we had believed him when he first arrived, his connection to the spirits may not have been weakened and we would have information about the other four. I'm sorry girls, but I'm afraid we have to leave it up to you to find them."

"I see," Lire muttered, "Tell me please, who else knows about the Grand Chase's true purpose? who can we entrust our secret to?"

Aurora stepped forward, "excluding the queen and myself only two others know of it's true purpose, the Kanavanian queen and Kanavan's strongest warrior, general Raq Grant."

The queen stood and walked towards the girls with her hands crossed over her chest, "I know that we are asking you to take on an unbelievably heavy burden but you are the only ones who can. Please girls we need you."

Lire looked into the queen's eyes for a short time and said, "I can see the sincerity in your eyes and I don't want to see any more death, so I'll help."

Arme looked at Lire, frightened, and finally said, "If Lire will do it then so will I."

Elesis looked first at the queen then Aurora then Lire and Arme and finally decided. "I will not help. This is the kind of thing that I don't want to get involved in, I refuse." Lire and Arme stared at Elesis, disappointed. The queen dropped to her knees and bowed to Elesis.

Aurora was angry, "Your majesty please stand, you need not bow to anyone."

"Quiet Aurora!" The queen scolded her. She then turned back to Elesis and bowed again, "Please Elesis, we need your help. I know I have no right to place such a burden on you but we need your help, please Elesis, I'm begging you."

Elesis smirked, "A queen has dropped to her knees and is begging me for help. This certainly doesn't happen everyday."

Arme brightened up, "Does that mean you'll help us Elesis."

"Absolutely not, as I said I will not help. My father died fighting Kaze'aze and I refuse to do the same. Aurora, you can take that as my resignation from the Grand Chase." Elesis turned and walked out of the throne room.

Lire and Arme were very disappointed. "Master Urashin's prophecy said there would be a group of warriors to fight the evil," Arme commented, "Without Elesis can we really win."

Aurora spoke, "If you find the other members of your group then you may still have a chance."

The queen stood up, sighed and reached into her robes pulling out a letter, "This letter will explain to the queen of Kanavan what has happened to Serdin and also about the two of you. Elesis is also mentioned in it so you will have to explain that part yourselves. Travel to Kanavan and find a ship that will take you to the Ellia continent, where Kaze'aze waits. We would send you from here but all our ships were destroyed in the attack." Lire gently took the letter from the queen and nodded.

"Before you go," Aurora began, "I should warn you that in order to get to Kanavan from here you will need to travel through the cave inhabited by the red gorgos. A gorgos is a giant, fire-breathing monster with a ludicrous amount of strength. Be extremely careful because the red gorgos is not only one of the strongest breed of gorgos' but this one is also very loyal to Kaze'aze, you may have to fight in order to pass through."

"before we leave, I have some questions for Knightmaster Aurora," Lire said.

"Ask me anything you like but remember that just because you ask, that doesn't mean I'll answer."

"OK then, first whats your realation to Kaze'aze, she seemed to know you."

"I fought her once before, many years ago."

"Then who is Kataleen, Kaze'aze said that name many times."

"Kataleen is my real name which I threw away after the battle with Kaze'aze. I will not explain why I threw my name away."

"Then who is Faren, Kaze'aze also mentioned him a lot."

"I will not answer that question."

"Thank you, we'll be going now."

After they had exited the throne room Arme said, "Lire do you think she's hiding something?"

"She's hiding a lot of things but I won't delve into it right now. Someday she may be willing to tell us and if not then that's fine to." Arme was upset because she couldn't stand the thought of someone keeping secrets from her but she followed Lire anyways.

Lire and Arme headed out of the castle and down to the town. As they headed towards the gates they noticed Elesis walk out of the port looking very annoyed. "_I guess she just found out that there are no boats sailing though I wonder where she had wanted to go," _Lire thought."

"Forget about her Lire, She's just a jerk who refused to help save the world."

Lire sighed, "I know but I still can't help worrying about her."

"you know there is such a thing as being to nice." Lire rolled her eyes and started heading towards the town gates again, stopping to talk to some knights near the destroyed pub. The knights asked Where Lire and Arme were going.

"We're headed to Kanavan to deliver a letter for the queen," Lire explained to them.

"What? for the queen!" one of the knights ran over and talked to the pub owner. Shortly after he came back with three bags full of food and a map, "It's a long journey to Kanavan, these bags have about two or three days worth of food in them. Here there's a bag for each of you... wait where's Elesis.

"Elesis quit," Arme pouted.

"Elesis quit!" The knight didn't seem to believe Arme, "Elesis didn't seem like the type to quit to me."

"Unfortunately she did, " Lire told him, "She's probably left town by now. We won't be able to carry the third bag very easily so give it out to the townspeople, they're the ones who need it anyways.

"Very well, have a good trip and don't get yourselves killed."

"We'll try." The knights headed back to the town square to give out the food and pick up building materials while Lire and Arme headed out of town.

* * *

It was getting dark. Lire and Arme had been walking almost all day following the map given to them by the knights.

"It's getting dark Lire," Arme complained, "We should find someplace to start a fire and have something to eat."

"Agreed." There was a forest near the road. Arme collected some wood and started a fire with magic while Lire headed into the forest. She came back about twenty minutes later dragging a dead boar with four arrows sticking out of it. They cooked the boar and ate some of what was in their bags.

"Hey Lire?"

"What is it."

Why do you think Elesis quit?"

"I think that talking about how she had to be the one to destroy Kaze'aze hit a nerve. I think she still compares herself to her father who was a great swordsman, she thinks that if he died while fight Kaze'aze then she has no chance. The shortened version would be that she's scared to die."

"I don't know anyone who isn't afraid of death."

"Neither do I, but with Elesis it seems bigger than that. I can't say I know exactly what she's thinking but maybe she's been surrounded by death and it's made her even more afraid than a normal person."

"That can't be right though."

"Why not?"

"Back at the orc temple Elesis lost to Agano. She stood up and just waited for him to kill her. I don't think she's any more afraid of death than a normal person, actually I'm not sure if she's scared of death at all."

"Elesis is just one big mystery."

"She never let us get very close to her either."

"Your right."

"The most she ever did was tell us about her father and that's only because you made her."

"Maybe she's scared of making friends then."

"Scared of making friends?"

"How did you feel when Urashin disappeared."

"I had a really bad pain in my heart that just wouldn't go away."

"Exactly, Elesis said that she lost her father and then her mother shortly after. I remember Aurora say that Elesis is from Kanavan, didn't you hear what happened when Kaze'aze assasinated the queen of Kanavan."

"Yes, it caused a huge panic and riot. A lot of Kanavan citizens were killed in the ensuing chaos."

"Right, Elesis probably lost a lot of friends before order was restored. She isn't afraid of death but she is afraid of someone close to her dieing."

"Then do you think the reason Elesis was looking for a ship was so that she could go and fight Kaze'aze alone!"

"I wouldn't put it past her. As soon as we can see the road tomorrow morning we'll have to get moving as quickly as possible and find her so she doesn't go and get herself killed."

After they had their little chat Arme and Lire fell asleep, waking the next morning as soon as the sun rose. They put out the smoldering ashes that were left from their fire and were back on the road. At mid-day they arrives at a large cavern, looking inside they could see rivers of lava.

Lire pulled out the map, "This must be the Gorgos' dungeon that the knightmaster warned us about."

"I'm kinda worried. Aurora told us that the red gorgos is very powerful and loyal to Kaze'aze. I'm not really sure if just the two of us can beat it."

"We'll be fine Arme," Lire said while taking her hand and leading her into the cavern."

Lire and Arme made their way through the maze like cave, fighting many child gorgos' along the way until they finally reached the last chamber. On the other side of the chamber was an opening with sun shining through and in the center of the chamber was the enormous red gorgos. It immediately charged before the girls could even get their bearings of the chamber. Lire grabbed Arme and jumped to the side just barely avoiding the gorgos' charge. She immediately notched an arrow firing it into the side of the gorgos' head. The gorgos turned towards the girls as if it didn't even notice it had an arrow sticking out of it's skull. It reeled it's head back and unleashed a huge stream of fire. Lire and Arme jumped to the side narrowly avoiding the fire.

"It's not letting up," Lire yelled to Arme, "And my arrow didn't have any effect at all."

"Keep it busy Lire, I may be able to do some damage to it, if I can get a clean shot."

Lire runs around the gorgos in an attempt to take his attention off of Arme. The gorgos followed Lire's movements, paying no attention to Arme.

"_So it is as stupid as it looks," _Arme thought while she waited for the proper time to attack. As the gorgos' eyes followed Lire it's tail flew up into the air. "Ice needle!" Arme yelled as two needles of ice appeared and jammed themselves into the gorgos' tail. The gorgos reeled back in pain. "Lire the tail is it's weakness, focus your fire on it's tail. Lire notched an arrow and jumped over the gorgos releasing the arrow into it's tail. The gorgos, once again, reeled back in pain. The gorgos then let out a huge roar which caused dozens of mini gorgos' to file into the room. All the mini gorgos' took position around the red gorgos and prepared to attack.

"Lire get behind me," Lire did as she was told. "This is the strongest spell master Urashin ever taught me, it's perfect for a situation like this," Arme charged all her energy into her wand and released it into the ceiling. Lire watched as hundreds upon hundreds of meteors fell from out of nowhere crushing all the gorgos beneath them. Arme leaned against Lire, panting and watching the meteors fall. After the last meteor fell the only one left was the red gorgos itself. The red gorgos sluggishly charged the girls. Lire picked Arme up and easily dodged the slow attack. Lire notched an arrow which then began to glow with green energy, although it was at a much weaker level it was the same energy that Lire had used to defeat the orc lord.

"This'll work," Lire said to herself as she fired the arrow through the gorgos' head. The gorgos staggered. Lire ran up and smashed her heel into it's head, crushing it's skull and making it slump down, dead. Lire helped Arme to her feet and they left the cave behind them.

After they left, the young, silver haired boy who attacked Serdin walked out and knelt down next to it, petting it's corpse. "You poor, pathetic creature. He then drew a circle around the gorgos' corpse which glowed a dark black. A black veil then lifted from the circle surrounding both the boy and the gorgos' corpse. The light faded and they were gone.

* * *

two days had passed since the pair had left the gorgos' cave. The girls had continued along the road as quickly as they could but never saw any sign of Elesis.

"Lire are we almost to kanavan? We're out of food and there's no forest or anything around here to hunt in either."

"According to this map we're in a place called the Gorge of Oath and Kanavan is just a little bit further after we pass here."

"State your names and business!" A voice demanded from out of nowhere. Lire and Arme looked around but no one could be seen. A young man appeared in front of them and both girls faces turned crimson red. He was a tall handsome man with his dark blue hair and cape blowing in the wind. "I repeat, state your name and business."

Arme giggled and turned redder. Lire managed to regain her composure though her cheeks remained a faint shade of pink. "W-we're messengers from Serdin, we have a letter from our queen to the Kanavanian queen. My name is Lire and my partner here is Arme."

"I am Ronan, of the Kanavan royal spell knights and I would like to see your letter." Lire pulled the letter out of her bag and handed it to Ronan who examined it carefully. "Indeed this is the Serdin royal seal. Very well, I will believe you and take you to see our queen. We must first cross this gorge, it is a treacherous so stay close to me." Arme, her face still crimson red, ran up, wrapped her arms around Ronan's and pushed herself against him. Lire did the same on Ronan's other side. Ronan just shook his head like he was used to it and started walking.

* * *

Not much to say today other than I'm very tired and I'm going to go to bed now.

As always review and all that and happy thanksgiving (To Canadians that is)


	6. tragedy of the elves

Ok I'm really sorry I took so long with this but school is a bitch and I haven't had the time and I had a really hard time with the fight scenes in this chapter to boot so I know they suck and I'm sorry about that. Well I'm going on vacation tomorrow and if the Hotel has internet service then I'll still upload using my laptop and if not then I'll keep writing and upload it when I get back. I'll upload faster next semester when I get a spare block so again I'm sorry.

Quishyle: 25% you got 1 out of 4 right though I'm not telling you which it is but it's better than what most people get, sadly enough

Also I was so desperate to get this done and uploaded that I probably missed some stuff during my proof reading so please tell me anything you notice so that I may fix it.

Well with that said, enjoy

* * *

"Dammit!" Elesis yelled out loud, "I knew I should have found a map or some food before I left the castle." Elesis had been wandering through a deep green forest for the several hours. "How did I get lost in this damned forest," Elesis ranted, "It was supposed to be so simple, Just follow Lire and Arme to Kanavan and get a ship to Ellia. But no! Kaze'aze just had to show up after that stupid Gorgos died and because of her I lost sight of them." Elesis continued to walk around in circles while she ranted until finally she stopped and just screamed at the air.

The bushes behind Elesis shook. She spun and drew her sword, taking her fighting stance. She scanned the bushes trying to find what had shaken them, after about 5 minutes she re-sheathed her sword and shook her head. "This forest is making you crazy," She told herself, "find some food, get out of here and you'll be fine." The bushes shook again, Elesis turned immediately pulling out her sword. She shook her head again. Just as Elesis re-sheathed her sword an enormous orange wolf jumped out of the bushes and charged her.

Elesis jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the wolf's fangs. The wolf stood up on it's hind legs and howled before charging Elesis again. The wolf was moving so fast that Elesis had no time to unsheathe her sword. It jumped into the air and beared its claws as it fell towards Elesis. Elesis jumped out of the way again and hid in some bushes, drawing her sword. The wolf looked around frantically before it reared back it's head and howled. Elesis charged out of the bush and swung her sword at the wolf. It opened it's mouth and caught the sword in it's teeth. Elesis and the wolf pushed against each other, each attempting to overpower the other. Elesis lost and was pushed to the ground. The wolf loomed over her menacingly and beared it's teeth. Suddenly the wolf's eyes dimmed and it acted scared. It turned and charged headfirst into a tree. It turned, rammed another tree and continued ramming headfirst into trees until it finally reared back its head and howled to the sky. After it finished howling it looked back at Elesis for a brief moment and ran through the bushes it had originally come from. Elesis waited until she could no longer hear the wolf before re-sheathing her sword.

"What just happened?" She muttered to no one, "What the hell was that thing trying to do." Elesis sat and thought about it for some time but every answer only raised more questions. She did determine one thing which she though tied everything together, "Kaze'aze". Elesis knew she had to get out of the forest as quickly as she could so she set out.

Elesis walked for hours trying to reach the edge of the forest but no matter how far she went she couldn't reach it. She staggered stopped and fell to her knees. Elesis was really starting to get hungry now, she had found a river a few hours back so she didn't need water but she had yet to find any food or see any animals other than the wolf. "Dammit I need food," She told herself, "I haven't eaten for three days now and I'm starting to feel faint." Elesis stood up and tried to keep walking but she just staggered in place and fell backwards. "Dammit, I'm to tired and hungry to keep moving. I'll just rest here for a little while then I'll find some food." Elesis went to sleep.

When Elesis woke up she felt warm. She rolled on her side to find a campfire which was dying away. She looked around and found a pile of wood so she grabbed some and threw them onto the fire. Suddenly her stomach started to hurt again. She grabbed her stomach in pain and started moaning loudly.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," A, male, voice said from behind her. Elesis turned to see an elven boy with short, spiky orange hair, an axe strapped to his back and a dead boar swung over his shoulder. "If you can handle waiting half an hour or so then I'll have this guy cooked up, or you could just eat it raw if you're really hungry.

"I'll wait," Elesis replied, looking at him skeptically.

The boy walked over and started cooking the boar over the fire. He looked at Elesis and asked, "What's with that look, is there something on my face?"

"No, I'm just wondering who you are and why I'm sitting with you right now."

"Isn't it customary for humans to give their own name before asking for someone elses?"

"I'm Elesis."

"My name is Ryan, I live in this forest and found you passed out, so I brought you back here."

"How long ago was that?"

"I think I found you about ten hours ago, maybe more."

"ten hours!"

"Yeah something like that, but you can't tell time very well when you're in this forest so I couldn't know for sure."

"I can't believe I was asleep for ten hours."

"Don't worry about it. Lots of people get lost in this forest and pass out."

"And you find them?"

"I only find one in every ten, if that. The rest of the time I find their corpses."

"That's disgusting." Ryan laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Ryan said, still chuckling, "I guess when you find them so often it stops having an effect on you."

"How long have you been here?"

"Ever since I was born."

"Are you all alone out here."

"Sure am."

"You've been alone ever since you were born?"

"Of course not, There used to be other elves living here but I'm the only one left."

"The orcs?"

"No, That was ten years ago."

"Then what happened?"

"I'd rather not get into that."

"Fine. So do you know the way out of this forest?"

"Of course, I've lived here my whole life."

"Can you show me the way out? No matter how much I walked I always ended up back in the same place."

"This forest is tricky theres an inifinte amount of places you could go in but only one way to ever get out, that place is near the area where my village used to be so I'll take you there tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Hey looks like the boar is ready." Elesis ate the boar as quickly as she could and went back to sleep.

* * *

Elesis found herself standing in a long castle hallway. She began to walk forward looking for a way out and eventually came upon a big room. In the center of the room her father stood, sword drawn, and a woman in red robes with long black hair running down her back stood opposite of him, holding a small knife.

"Kaze'aze!" Elesis' father yelled, "even if it costs me my life I will kill you here!"

"Amusing," Kaze'aze laughed, "You actually think you can defeat me?"

"I will," He replied calming down substantially, "I promised my wife that I would create a world where our daughter could live in peace. I will destroy you for that sake!"

"Try." Kaze'aze jumped into the air and shot balls of darkness from her palms. They flew towards Elesis' father, who easily dodged them. Kaze'aze clapped her hands together and lightning fell from the ceiling. While Elesis' father dodged the bolts Kaze'aze charged flame energy into her hands and released an enormous rush of fire towards him. Elesis' father avoided the fire but got hit with a lightning bolt as he dodged.

"Papa!" Elesis ran forward towards her father but the silver haired boy jumped down in front of her, grabbed her shoulders and pushed her to the ground. He walked towards her, picker her up by her hair and faced her towards kaze'aze and her father.

"Any last words, you fool?" Kaze'aze mocked as she held her dagger near Elesis' father's face.

"Why are you doing this, Relyne? Don't you remember, the time we spent together... back in the village?"

"Silence you fool!" Kaze'aze screamed as she raised her dagger, "I will not go back to that powerless existence, never!"

"Relyne, try to remember everyone you left behind. Urashin, Ialin, Ariann, Me and even our..." Kaze'aze jammed her dagger into his chest and burned his body.

"You bastard, how dare you make me remember such things." Kaze'aze turned and walked away as if she never even noticed Elesis and the silver haired boy.

"Memories of innocence cause great pain to those who took the wrong path," The silver haired boy said solemnly, releasing Elesis. "Being able to forget your past, your heartaches, your regrets, is truly a blessing. I have no respect for people who try to take that blessing from others." Elesis looked at him reaching her hand to her sword. "I'm not looking for a fight, I just have one simple request."

"What is it?"

"Help me, please." The boy fell to his knees and tears formed in his eyes. before any of the tears could fall his eyes glowed white and he took out a knife. "Now it's time for you to wake up." He jabbed his knife into Elesis' stomach and she fell to the ground.

* * *

Elesis woke up in a cold sweat. Ryan looked over from the fire and handed Elesis some fish.

"Looks like you had a bad dream. You ok?" Elesis wouldn't take the fish and instead hugged her knees to her chest. She began to cry. "Whoa Elesis whats wrong, what happened?" He asked as he sat down and placed his arm around her.

"Elesis cried into Ryan's chest as she slowly sniffled out, "I saw, my father die."

"Calm down Elesis, it was just a dream."

"I saw that boy to, he asked me for help and then he started to cry."

"Boy? What boy?"

"The silver haired boy that Kaze'aze has possesed."

Ryan's eyebrows rose slightly. He retracted his arm and stood up. "Let's go, it's time to get you out of this forest."

"Right thanks." Ryan put out the campfire, strapped his axe to his back and then kneeled and folded his hands. "What are you doing."

"Every day you must pray to the gods of nature, apologizing for all the wrong you do to it. You must also pray for the souls of any animals you eat and thank them for their sacrifice."

"Is that a tradition among the elves?"

"No I didn't start this until I was alone. Come on, let's head towards the exit." Ryan lead the way and Elesis followed behind him. Eventually they came across an area with the remains of many torched houses.

"Was this the village?" Elesis asked.

"Yeah, I used to live here with everyone. I was orphaned in the orc's attack 10 years ago but everyone in the village was always so kind."

"This is horrible. What could have happened?"

"Forget about it, the exit's over that way, let's go."

"What are you hiding, Ryan?"

"Nothing, it's my business not yours, just forget about it and get back to your city!" Suddenly the earth shook. "Dammit to hell, it's here!"

"What's here?"

"The troll, it's to strong for me to defeat so I've been doing everything I can to prevent it from finding the exit! That's why I just wanted you to get out but it's to late now."

"I'll help you, together we'll defeat it."

"Don't hold your breath." A giant troll charged through the trees. In it's right hand was an extremely large nail and trees were growing from it's back. Ryan grabbed his axe from his back and smashed it into the troll's arm. The troll flailed it's arm around throwing Ryan off and smashing him into a tree. Elesis, who had circled around the troll, jumped and smashed her sword into the back of it's head. The troll's skin was as hard as rock and Elesis' sword just bounced off. Ryan stood slowly gripping his axe hard and smashed it into the troll's stomach. The troll reared back in pain and then hit Ryan away, but the axe remained embedded in it's stomach.

"Elesis it's stomach is soft, aim there." Elesis ran underneath the troll and stabbed it's stomach. The troll hopped backwards with the sword still jutting from it's stomach. "Dammit, it's got our weapons!" Ryan yelled.

"I can see that!"

"I'll distract it, get those weapons out of the bastard!" Ryan charged the troll turning just before the troll smashed it's fist down. Ryan bolted away from the troll and it tried to follow him. Elesis charged underneath the troll jumping and grabbing the handle of Ryan's axe. She began swinging back and forth, trying to get it dislodged. The axe came out and Elesis fell to the ground. The troll looked down and noticed Elesis, it then raised the nail above it's head and smashed it into the ground next to Elesis.

Elesis ran away form the troll and threw Ryan his axe. "There has to be a better spot to attack that it's stomach!" Elesis yelled to him.

"The front of it's neck is softer than it's stomach," Ryan replied, "But it's impossible to hit it there."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do!"

"Try to distract it, I'll see what I can do."

"Ok." Elesis ran towards the troll and jumped onto it's head. She pulled back as hard as she could and the troll's head tilted backwards slightly. Ryan charged and swung his axe at the troll's neck. He hit the neck dead on and the troll flailed around in pain, throwing Elesis off of him and knocking Ryan away. "What the hell!" Elesis yelled, "Why is his head still attached!"

"Shit," Ryan muttered under his breath as he fell to his hands and knees. The troll knocked the axe out of it's neck and turned towards Elesis. The troll charged her as fast as it could and grabbed her with it's left hand. It began to squeeze Elesis.

"Ryan, h-help, I can't breath." Elesis looked down to see Ryan on his hands and knees, looking at the ground. "Ryan what are you doing?" Ryan looked up and his eyes were glowing bright yellow. Elesis became scared. "Ryan? Why are your eyes glowing? Ryan?" Ryan reared back his head and howled. His body began to change. His hair grew long and covered his whole body. His teeth became fangs and claws formed on his hands. Ryan threw his arms open and howled to the sky. When Elesis opened her eyes Ryan was gone and in his place was the wolf that had attacked her. "That wolf was, Ryan?" Elesis asked herself.

Ryan snarled and bore his claws. He charged towards the troll. The troll swung the nail at Ryan but Ryan disappeared just before it hit him. The troll looked around frantically and began to squeeze Elesis more tightly. Ryan came flying out of the bushes and swung his claw at the troll's arm. The rocklike skin on the troll's arm shattered revealing a soft flesh. Ryan jumped and sunk his fangs into the arm. The troll dropped Elesis and grabbed Ryan. The troll pulled Ryan off and threw him into some bushes. Ryan came charging back out immediately throwing it's claws towards the troll's neck. The troll swung it's nail towards Ryan knocking him back to the ground. Ryan stood and raised it's claws but as he prepared to launch an attack, his eyes dimmed. Ryan immediately turned and rammed into a nearby tree. The troll dropped his guard just as Ryan turned around and smashed his claw into the wound on the troll's throat. The troll threw his head back and Ryan jumped up hitting the wound again. The troll staggered and fell onto it's back. Ryan jumped on top of it and clawed at it's throat. Suddenly, Ryan began to glow. His hair began to recede, his claws dissapeared and his fangs returned to being teeth.

Elesis grabbed Ryan's axe from the ground and threw it to him. Ryan caught it and smashed it into the troll's neck. The troll's head came off and rolled across the ground. Elesis ran up to Ryan as he was getting off the troll.

"Ryan are you alright?" Elesis asked.

"I-I'm just fi-" Ryan collapsed into Elesis' arms.

* * *

"Ryan wake up!" Ryan opened his eyes to see a young blonde elf.

"Ceria? Your alive?"

"Of course I am, dummy. Did you hit your head or something?

"Uh no, I'm sorry bad dream that's all."

"Well get up your going to be late."

"Late for what."

"For training with the other druids of course. Remember you're finally old enough to join them."

"But I've been a druid for 3 months."

"What are you talking about you only turned 15 a few days ago. Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Ceria went downstairs. Ryan looked out his window to see the elf village in the state it was in before it was destroyed. He put on some clothes and ran down the stairs to see his house looking the same as it always had.

"_The village is back to normal." _He thought_. "This doesn't make any sense."_ Ryan ran out the door and ran into the village elder.

"Ryan, wonderful to see you again. You're finally old enough to be trained by the sentinels of our village."

"_Guess I'll just have to play along for now." _Ryan decided. "Yes sir I'm very excited for it."

"Good, I'm sure you'll make a fine warrior. Now hurry along or you will be late."

"Yes sir." Ryan ran to the druid barracks. "Sorry I'm late sir!" Ryan apologized.

"It's fine Ryan,"One of the sentinels reassured him, "Everyone is late on their first few days. We haven't started yet anyways."

"Hey new guy! over here!."

Ryan walked over to a small group of 3 warriors. "Heya new guy."

"Hey Gin, been awhile huh."

"Yeah man I'll say, Haven't seen you since I joined up here."

"Well it does keep you busy." One of the other druids claimed.

"My condolences Ryan. You won't get to spend any time with Ceria anymore."

"Shut up Gin!" Ryan said, blushing.

"Relax Ryan, I'm just kidding. Anyways we're supposed to be in teams of four but we only have three so from now on you're the fourth member of our team, got that."

"Ok sounds good to me."

"This guy here is Kio, and the other guy is Frin."

"Hey guys I'm Ryan."

"Hello."

"Pleased to meet you."

"So what do we do here." _"As if I don't already know"_

"Simple, we get our orders then we carry them out. Though the forest has been really peaceful lately so we pretty much just train everyday." Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Ok everyone listen up!" Ryan turned to see a man with a scythe and three men with crescent blades standing before all the troops. "We'll be training again today. We have a new recruit so I want everyone on his team to keep a careful eye on him and make sure he doesn't get himself killed out there."

"Yes sir!" All the druids answered together.

"Good then move out and get some good practice in today."

Ryan, Gin, Kio and Frin headed out into the forest and began training. After about an hour Ryan collapsed. "Come on Ryan," Gin taunted, "You'll have to do way more than an hour everyday."

"Shut up Gin."

"It's his first day Gin, let him take a break." Frin insisted.

"Go that way for a little bit and you'll find a river," Kio explained, "Go get a drink and come back in 10 minutes or so."

Ryan headed towards the river. "See you guys in a little while," "_Idiots, I know where the river is but how many times do I have to relive this. I've had this same dream so many times and no matter what I do it always ends up the same. I even threw the body into the river once but they still found it."_ Ryan got to the river and saw exactly what he was expecting, a bloody, silver-haired boy on the other side of the river. _"No matter what I do the result of this dream will always be the same, may as well just do it properly."_Ryan waded across the river and put the boy on his back. He then took him back to Gin, Kio and Frin who helped Ryan carry him back to the village. They tended the boy's wounds and put him in a bed in the elder's house. Ryan explained to the elder and the village Sentinels how he found the boy and then he headed home. _"It doesn't matter what I do the result will be the same."_ Ryan told himself. As Ryan prepared to make dinner there was a knock at the door. _"So predictable," _"Come on in Ceria!"

"How did you know it was me?"

"Just a lucky guess."

"Hey Ryan have you eaten yet?"

"No I was just getting ready to make dinner."

"Actually I made to much for myself." A blush crept across Ceria's face, "Would you like to come and eat with me?"

"Sure why not." Ryan and Ceria went over to Ceria's house where Ceria had made enough food to feed half the villages druids. "You don't expect me to eat all this, do you?"

Ceria giggled, "Well whatever we have left over we'll just give to the druids tomorrow."

"You could of done that without me here." They laughed and sat down to eat.

"Hey Ceria."

What's wrong Ryan?"

"It's been 10 years since those orcs attacked right."

"Yeah although I'm actually kinda happy they did because if it weren't for them then I never would have met you."

"Right the rest of your clan fled to Eryuel island without realizing that you were still alive."

"I'm not sad about it, I was to young to remember anyone from that clan. So what prompted those questions anyways."

No reason just popped into my head. I'm feeling kinda tired so I'm just gonna head home."

Ceria looked sad, "Well ok, see you tomorrow." With that Ryan headed home.

The next morning Gin woke Ryan up very early. "Ryan get up, that boy from yesterday woke up."

"Has he said anything?" _"As if I don't know_."

"Yeah he told us that the thing that attacked him was a troll. We don't have any idea where it came from but we have orders to move out and destroy it, all druids will be moving in teams of four. Master Riallan and the sentinels will be moving seperate from us. Now hurry up we're leaving soon." Ryan got his weapon and armor together and headed out with Gin. On their way to the gates of the village, they were stopped by Ceria.

"Ryan can I talk to you for a minute?"

"We don't have to much time to waste, Ryan so make it quick." Ryan nodded and Gin kept going towards the gate.

Ryan, Are you really going to fight a troll?"

"I wasn't at the meeting but that's what I've been told."

Ceria wraps her arms around Ryan and buries her head in his chest, "Just be careful ok, troll's are strong."

Ryan puts his arms around Ceria, "Don't worry about me just be ready to get out of here if the troll shows up."

Ceria looked up at Ryan with tears in her eyes, "Ryan please come back to me." She slowly leaned towards him and met his lips with her own. Ceria's arms rose and hung from Ryan's neck as Ryan's arms went around her waist, pulling her closer towards him. They seperated after no more than 3 seconds. "Please come back to me," Ceria sobbed into his chest.

"I will, don't worry." Ceria nodded and headed back to her house. _"I promise to come back but what happens then, I can never apologize for."_

Ryan ran to the village gate where all the druids had gathered. After a short briefing all the druids split into their teams and headed out to find the troll. Just after they started out Gin turned to Ryan, "Hey Ryan I said make it quick not make out."

Ryan shot him a death glare, "Didn't anyone ever teach you it's rude to spy." Gin, Kio and Frin laughed as Ryan turned beet red. "Shut up you guys! Just get ready we're going against a strong opponent."

"Right," The three say together. The four look around for hours but find nothing other than trails of crushed trees and dead animals.

"Dammit, how many ways did that damned troll go." Gin asked frustrated.

"Now's not the time Gin lets get back to the village," Frin told him trying to calm him down.

"Yeah you're right let's go," Ryan didn't move, "Hey Ryan get a move on."

"You guys go back without me I thought I heard something."

"Forget it Ryan it's time to head back."

Gin sighed, "I'll stay with him so you guys go ahead."

"Ok, just hurry back."

"Of course." Gin and Ryan continue looking for the troll. After half an hour of searching they've still found nothing. "Ryan we can't keep searching anymore, let's get back."

"Yeah fine." _"Now it's time for the hardest part."_

Ryan and Gin head back to the village. When they get there they find that it has been burned to the ground. In the center of the village are the corpses of the village Sentinels.

"What the hell happened here!" Gin screamed.

"I happened." Gin and Ryan turned to see the silver haired boy standing behind them. "Those fools tried to fight me, so I killed them."

"Damn you!" Gin pulled his axe and charged the boy. The boy ducked under the attack and slid over to Ryan.

"I would kill you myself but I don't think it would be painful enough. This boy desires power, I can sense it and so I will grant him the power he desires." The boy formed an orb of energy in his hands and shoved it into Ryan's chest. Ryan fell to his knees and his eyes began to glow.

_"Not this again." _Ryan transformed into a wolf. He stood and saw Gin running away. He charged jamming his claw through Gin's back. He pulled his claw out of Gin and watched him fall to the ground dead.

The silver haired boy laughed hysterically, "Go on I left plenty for you, I made it so they couldn't escape the village so please enjoy the hunt." The boy dissapeared. Ryan went hunting through the village brutally slaughtering every elf he could find. Finally he came upon the village elder.

"Ryan, why has this happened to you, you had such potential." Ryan slashed the elder, "Ryan, please stop this. You were always such a kind boy don't become a monster." The elder died.

Ryan looked to the sky and howled before beginning his search for more elves. He ran through the village finding the odd elf here or there until, he was finally done. Suddenly there was a rustling behind him. He turned around quickly to find Ceria, wide eyed and terrified.

"Ryan, pl-please don't," Ceria begged as he approached her, "Please Ryan don't!" Ryan's claw rose above his head and opened up. "Please Ryan." His claw pierced Ceria's chest. Immediately RYan's eyes dimmed and he began to smash his head into the ground. After a short time he returned to his normal form. Ryan knelt next to Ceria and began to cry. "R-Ryan?"

"Ceria!"

"Ryan I won't survive but don't think this is your fault. You're back to normal, I'm glad I could do that much for you, I was always so weak when you were fighting."

"C-Ceria," Ryan stuttered out, his face drenched with tears. "This is all my fault I can't believe I killed everyone in the village, everyone. I-I don't deserve to live after this."

"Ryan don't kill yourself, you don't deserve to die the one who forced you to do this was that boy, please Ryan, live for all of us."

"C-Ceria, I can't go on not without you and Gin and-"

"Ryan, I love you please live for us both." Ceria died.

"C-Ceria? Ceria! I-I love you Ceria and I promise that I will live for you." Ryan slowly moved his head down and brushed Ceria's lips.

* * *

Ryan awoke slowly. He sat up and noticed that Elesis had made a campfire and fallen asleep. Ryan got up and went to a remote spot in the village. In this spot there were more than one hundred wooden crosses stuck in a small field. Ryan dropped to his knees folded his hands and prayed.

As Ryan was praying Elesis walked up behind him. "Each of those represents one of the elves that died here right"

"Y-yes."

Elesis tuned her head and noticed a larger cross singled out from the others. "What's that one."

"That one belongs to Ceria, The girl I loved."

"So sad."

"Elesis, let's go back to the campfire, you helped me destroy that troll so I will tell you everything you want to know. Elesis and Ryan walked back to the campfire where Ryan told Elesis about all that had happened three months earlier.

"A silver haired boy cursed you and you killed everyone in the village? Everyone?"

"Well there was one person missing, the viken master, my adopted brother, Riallan. I never found his corpse when I was collecting them for burial and I've searched the entire forest, I don't know what could have happened to him."

"Ryan, that boy is not the one to direct your hatred towards. He is being possesed by a woman known as Kaze'aze. She is the source of all the evil in the land."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm on a quest to kill her."

"I see."

"Ryan the battle with the troll made me realize something. I always wanted to do everything on my own because I was afraid of letting my allies be hurt but now I realize how powerless I actually am. RIght now Kaze'aze is causing more and more of what happened here to everyone and I don't want to let that happen. Ryan please join me and help me battle Kaze'aze, let me help you get revenge for your people."

"Revenge for my people. Revenge for Ceria. I'll come with you Elesis on one condition."

"What's that."

"If I ever turn into a wolf and go insane like I did that first time, you have to promise me that you will kill me."

"Ryan... I promise."

"Thank you Elesis."

"Well then, we should head for Kanavan, there we'll meet Lire and Arme a couple of old friends of mine who'll help us battle Kaze'aze." With that Ryan and Elesis left the village on their way to the city of Kanavan, little did they suspect the great battle that would be waiting for them there.


	7. Kanavan's defense

Well I'm back with another chapter. this chapter has Lire a little OOC but we can live with it. Enjoy

* * *

Lire and Arme had passed through the Gorge of Oath with Ronan and come to the Castle of Kanavan. Ronan led them to the throne room where the queen awaited them.

"Your majesty," Ronan greeted her as he bowed, "I have brought messengers from the kingdom of Serdin." Lire and Arme bowed before the queen.

"You may rise girls," The queen told them very kindly, "Ronan please call General Grant to the throne room and afterwards return to your duties."

"As you wish, your majesty." Ronan left the throne room closing the large door behind him.

"So you two are messengers of Serdin? By any chance, does the message have anything to do with Kaze'aze?"

"Yes your highness," Lire replied.

"I'm Arme and this is Lire, we're two of the chosen heroes that master Urashin predicted would defeat Kaze'aze," Arme explained to the queen.

"I see, so it is finally time to take back our world." The door opened and a tall man in thick black armor entered. He walked past Lire and Arme and bowed before the queen. "Welcome General Grant."

"I apologize for taking so long," Grant apologized, "may I ask why I have been called."

"These two girls are messengers from Serdin," the queen explained, "they are both the chosen spoken of by the great prophet."

Grant turned towards the girl and examined them very carefully. "Welcome to our castle," he said monotonely. "Are there any others who came with you?"

"No sir, just us."

"I see," Grant turned back to the queen, "Your highness did we not send lady Elesis to Serdin believeing she to was a chosen?"

"You're right General. May I ask where miss Elesis is?"

Lire gave the queen the letter and explained why Elesis was not with them. "That's what happened before we got here," Lire concluded.

The Queen carefully read over the letter from the Serdinian Queen, after she was finished she pulled another letter out of the envelope. "General Grant this letter is for you from Knightmaster Aurora in Serdin," She said as she handed the letter to Grant. "I'm sure you're aware of this girls but Kaze'aze is currently on Ellia continent to the north."

"Yes your highness we were told about that."

"Unfortunately we cannot send you there due to a problem in our kingdom right now."

"A porblem? May I ask what kind of problem."

"Gaikoz." The queen replied solemnly.

"Allow me to explain," General Grant interjected as he folded up the letter, "Gaikoz was once a knight of Kanavan but in the war he lost his lover. Gaikoz went berserk and began slaughtering friend and foe alike. It took the power and lives of seven of Kanavans greatest warriors in order to end his life. Unfortunately, due to Kaze'aze's influence, he has been revived, he currently stays in an abandoned castle up the mountain to the west of Kanavan. Kaze'aze ordered him to keep people away and so he has sent troops and completely taken over the port town to the north."

"So if we want to get to Ellia we'll have to take down Gaikoz first."

"Yes, unfortunately. Gaikoz is no weak warrior and he has the ability to create more troops without the need for Kaze'aze's help. It would be much appreciated if you would join us in our campaign against him."

"Of course, General Grant."

Suddenly, the door to the throne room burst open and Ronan came charging in. "General Grant please come quickly we need your help!"

"Ronan? What happened."

"A number of Gaikoz's troops are marching towards us as we speak!"

"You're second in command of the army, Ronan. Take the knights and go deal with them."

"But General Grant he has sent more than the scouts he had constantly sent before. This time we saw MongBangs and Dark Mages among the ranks!"

"MongBangs and Dark Mages! dammit, Ronan stay here and guard the castle I will take some knights and deal with this." With that, General Grant charged out of the courtroom and headed towards the barracks.

"So Gaikoz is beginning to get serious with us." The queen muttered, "Very well, Ronan please find miss Lire and miss Arme some rooms in the castle."

"I'm sorry your majesty but due to our continued hostility with Gaikoz every free room in the castle is being used to treat the injured. If I may be so bold I could allow them to stay at my mansion until it is time to leave."

"Very well, Sir Ronan." Lire and Arme clung to Ronan as they left the throne room. He led them out of the castle to a large mansion which was very close by.

"Welcome to the Erudon family estate, please come inside and get some rest." Ronan, Lire and Arme entered the mansion to find a tall, this man with grey hair waiting inside. The man bowed to Ronan.

"Welcome back, master Ronan." He lifted his head, noticed Lire and Arme and sighed, "Master Ronan, it seems as though some girls from the town have followed you home... again."

Ronan laughed, "No Thomas, these are the queen's guests. All the rooms in the castle are being used to treat injured soldiers so I offered them rooms here for the time being."

"Oh, I see," Thomas turned towards Lire and Arme, "My sincerest apologies, I am Thomas, head butler of the Erudon estate. May I ask your names, young ladies."

"I am Arme."

"My name is Lire."

"Miss Arme and Miss Lire, I welcome you."

Ronan interjects, "Thomas, please have something for dinner ready in about an hour." Thomas bowed and left them. "Well then if you two would like a bath, we have hotsprings behind the house."

"Hotsprings!" Lire exclaimed excitedly, "We had hotsprings back on Eryuel but I haven't seen any since I came to the mainland."

Ronan chuckled, "Well then please follow me." Ronan led them to the back of the house. He pulled out a large basket placing it near the door. "Leave your clothes in here and the maids will wash them tonight. I'll find something which you can wear while the maids have your clothes. If you need anything else then don't hesitate to call."

"T-Thank you Ronan," Arme stuttered out with a big blush on her face. Ronan bowed and left the girls alone. They took off their clothes leaving them in the basket and got into the hotspring. Lire closed her eyes and leaned back while Arme's face grew redder as she tried to adjust to the heat. "Hey Lire," She asked after finally getting relaxed, "What do you think of Ronan?"

Lire opened one of her eyes and looked at Arme's beet red face. "He's very kind and noble," She told Arme, "He actually reminds me of my brother."

"Your brother?"

"Yes, my brother was always so kind to everyone but when he had to fight he fought with all his might and never let anyone from the village get hurt."

"Your brother sounds like an amazing person. I wish I had some siblings that I could look up to like that."

Lire slid across the bath, settled down next to Arme and put her arm around her. "Don't worry about it Arme, even though you don't know your family, your still here and your my important friend, and Elesis' to."

"Thanks Lire."

"Now that that's done I want to ask you a question."

"Ok, what is it."

A mischievous grin formed across Lire's face. "Why did you suddenly ask about Ronan?"

Arme face turned red again. "U-um b-b-because..." Arme calmed herself down before going any further. "Because he's our new friend, right?"

"That's a weak excuse, Arme." Arme looked away from Lire. "Ok, ok fine you don't like him. Ronan is very handsome though so maybe I'll try to get to know him a little better tonight."

Arme jumped up, "No Lire, please."

Lire laughed while blushing intesly, "Arme sit down would you." Arme looked down at her self and her face turned red again. She quickly dropped back down into the water. Lire kept laughing while Arme glared at her. Lire grabbed Arme and started rubbing their cheeks together. "You're so cute Arme, your just like a little sister."

"You realize that I'm older than you right?"

Lire just kept rubbing their cheeks together. "I don't care you'll always be like my little sister."

"What happened to you, you usually don't act anything like this." Arme turned to look at Lire who had a really dazed look on her face. "How lightweight do you have to be to get drunk just from sitting in a hotspring?" Lire fell over and sunk into the water. Arme grabbed her and pulled her out of the bath.

After about a half-hour Lire woke up. The two girls left the bath to find that their clothes had already been taken away. On the table in the middle of the room there were two odd robes laid out. Arme and Lire tried to put them on but they couldn't figure out how. Several maids came in and dressed them.

"I feel like a kid." Lire whispered to Arme.

"What like their little sister?" Lire looked at Arme confused, "forget it."

After the maids had finished dressing the girls they led them to a large room with a long dining table. Sitting at the table was Ronan in an outfit very similar to theirs. "If your hungry their's plenty of food here." Ronan told them.

Lire and Arme looked over the table which was covered in gourmet looking food. "Wow this all looks amazing." Lire commented.

"Thomas is an excellent cook. He is also wonderful at cleaning and an excellent sparring partner."

"That old man can fight?" Ronan laughed at Arme's comment.

"Indeed he can he was once a master of the silver knights fighting style. He came to Kanavan with my father just shortly before Silverland disappeared."

"Amazing, the elder always told me stories of silverland and the powerful silver knights but I never thought I'd actually meet one."

Ronan laughed again, "It's even more amazing when you see him fight, trust me."

"Um, can I ask what we're wearing," Arme interjected while drawing attention to the purple robe she was wearing.

"They're called Kimonos," Ronan explained, "My mother was the only person in the world who knew how to make them. She had a lot of knowledge that no one else could even try to understand but no one ever questioned her. Those kimonos were my sisters before she dissapeared, I figured that she wouldn't mind if you two wore them.

"Their beautiful."

"They certainly are."

Ronan smiled as the girls sat down and started to eat. After they were done Ronan showed them more of his mansion and explained how the Erudon family was the second richest and second most powerful family in all of Kanavan, second only to the royal family. After he was finished showing the girls around the mansion he called his maids. The maids helped the girls prepare for bed and showed them to their rooms. The girls fell asleep almost immediately.

In the middle of the night someone woke Arme up. She slowly opened her eyes to find Ronan leaning over her. Arme face instantly turned deep red.

"Arme, Are you feeling ok? your face is kinda red." Ronan asked as he leaned forward and placed his forehead against her's.

"R-Ronan w-w-what are you d-doing in here," Arme stuttered nervously.

"Oh right! The castle is under attack by Gaikoz's troops. Lire is already on her way there. Please, we need your help."

"I can't fight in these robes though."

"Your clothes are on the edge of the bed. Please get ready as quickly as you can." Arme got dressed and met Ronan outside the mansion. They quickly ran to the castle to find the area in front of the castle completely barren.

"Where is everyone?"

"They're all inside the castle, the enemies will be here soon so we have to get in there." Ronan opened the castle gate and entered with Arme. Lire met them just inside and led them to the general's planning room where the queen, as well as many of the castle's soldiers, were waiting. Ronan immediately walked to the table at the centre of the room and started spitting questions to whatever soldiers were listening. "How long until the enemies get here? What are their troops comprised of? What's our own troops status?"

"Captain Ronan, please calm down sir."

"Fine," Ronan said as he calmed himself down. "Now tell me about the enemy."

"Yes sir. Our scouts have brought reports that the enemy unit is comprised mainly of scouts with no more than ten percent of them being guards. It seems that the general and his troops have eliminated the mongbangs and dark mages that were among the enemies."

"That reminds me, where is the general?"

The knight looked scared, "C-captain Ronan, the general has yet to return."

"Excuse me?" Ronan screamed at the knight.

"I'm sorry sir but the general nor his troops never returned."

"Shit! What troops did he take with him?"

"Sir, that's, perhaps, our biggest problem. The general took every spellknight, other than yourself, with him."

Ronan smashed his fist on the table, "Shit! We'll just have to come up with a plan that will allow us to hold out until the general returns."

"But captain, what if the gener-"

"Shut your damned mouth! The general is not dead and he will be back, is that understood!"

The queen walked over to Lire and Arme who were watching Ronan, speechless. "Not used to seeing him like that, are you?" The queen asked, "Usually he is very calm and composed but when it comes to matters of the general or Thomas, he tends to get rather upset."

"I never thought that he could be like that," Arme commented, "I wonder if he has anyone to help him through it if the general really is dead."

"Why don't you go and comfort him," Lire teased her.

"Is this really the time to be saying stuff like that?"

"When did you get so serious?"

"When did you get so not serious?"

"The moment I found something I could tease you with."

"Not a lot of people see this side of you, do they?"

"Come now Arme, Is this really the time to be having this conversation?"

"STOP THAT!"

"Now girls, calm down. Let's go listen to captain Ronan and focus on the problem at hand right now." The girls agreed with the queen and went to listen to Ronan's briefing.

"Listen up soldiers, our plan for defending the castle is very simple. Our swordsmen, lancemen and axemen are to form a defensive circle around the front gate. You are not to attack only defend the gate. On the castle walls we will have archers and mages stationed. They will be firing their attacks down to destroy as many enemies as possible. Also the lieutenant has chosen some men to be stationed along with the archers and mages. Their job will be to destroy any enemies who manage to make it onto the wall. Now the lieutenant will read out the names of the men to be stationed with the archers and mages, as soon as he's finished all troops are to get to their stations immediately." After Ronan's briefing was finished he walked over to Lire and Arme. "Miss Lire, Miss Arme if I may be so bold I would like to ask you to assist the troops on the wall, if you do not wish to then please join the queen in her chambers."

"Ill help."

"Me to."

Ronan nodded and turned towards the queen, "Your highness please retire to the throne room, I have several men who will be guarding it while we do battle."

"Very well, thank you captain."

"Ok Lire and Arme, please go join the mage and archer groups and be sure your ready, I'll be fighting with my men at the gate so I won't be able to help you at all." With that, Lire and Arme went off to join their groups. "_Uncle Raq, please come back soon._" Ronan thought before running off to join the troops at the gate.

As the soldiers were preparing their formations the enemy group became visible in the distance. Ronan and his lieutenant started barking orders and all the soldiers began moving and getting into their positions faster. Just as the troops finished getting into position the enemy reached the gate. Most of the enemies look like red, metallic mantises with spikes on their arms instead of scythes but there were also large suits of armor holding large hammers among the enemies.

The enemies immediately began storming the gate. Ronan and his men repelled their attacks while the archers and mages picked them off from above but no matter how many were destroyed more seemed to take their place. Ronan's frustration with the seemingly impossible battle began to spike and he ran behind the troops to get to the ladders they had set up just in front of the gate. He climbed up to the top of the wall and began speaking with the lieutenant, Arme and Lire joined them shortly after.

"Captain, I don't think this will work, for every one we destroy two more take it's place, it's working for now but eventually the ground troops will become exhausted."

"Dammit, if only general Grant were here."

"Captain you're also a spell knight can't you do anything."

"I haven't mastered the types of spells necessary to destroy this many enemies yet."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Lire asked.

"God dammit!" suddenly the ground shook terribly and many of the enemy troops went flying into the air, crashing down and falling apart. "What the hell just happened." Ronan looked down the road leading to the castle to see Ryan with his axe resting on his shoulder walking towards the castle. Behind him was Elesis.

"That's Elesis!" Ronan exclaimed, "But who's the boy that's with her?"

"I've never seen him before."

As Elesis and Ryan reached the castle, Ryan swung his axe hard knocking down another five enemies. Elesis drew her sword and immediately took down three enemies.

"What the hell," Ronan muttered, "Gaikoz is toying with us, the troops he sent are incredibly fragile. Time for a change of strategy." Ronan jumped off the wall and landed in front of the gate. He raised his arm and screamed, "All wall stationed troops cease fire! All ground units Attack!" All the soldiers rushed forward to join Ryan and Elesis in battle. Ronan turned to see a large group of the enemies rushing towards him. He smirked as he thrust his hand forward. "Lunetik Force!" He yelled as a small white orb flew from his hand. The moment it touched one of the enemies huge shards of ice came flying out of it destroying everything around it.

Elesis and Ryan stood back to back fighting off the enemies from every angle. "God dammit there is just no end to them!" Ryan yelled.

"Just hang in there, they have to run out of soldiers eventually!"

meanwhile, up on the wall, Lire and Arme were talking. "We have to figure out some way to help everyone."

"I have an idea," Arme claimed, "If that quake that threw up all thsoe enemies managed to defeat them all then I think I may have just the spell to finish this. Arme ran to the ladder and climbed down. Ronan ran to the foot of the ladder when he saw Arme climbing down.

"Miss Arme, is something wrong?"

"Help me get to the centre of the battlefield without getting beaten up. If I can get out there then I should be able to finish this whole thing."

Ronan looked uncertain. "Very well miss Arme but be extremely careful, I would not be able to face the queen or miss Lire if anything were to happen." Arme nodded, her face slightly red, and grabbed Ronan's arm. They fought through the enemies in their way until they finally reached the centre of the battlefield. "Here we are, Miss Arme, please do what you planned."

Arme shook her head, "First order all the knight out of the area," She commanded Ronan.

"But if we do that the-"

"Please Ronan just trust me." Ronan hesitated but he eventually nodded and started giving the orders. Everyone except for Elesis and Ryan followed without question. "Get those two near me!" Ronan charged them and dragged them near Arme. Arme nodded as the two of them thrashed around. Arme placed her hands together in front of her, slowly brought them apart creating a special energy. She clapped her hand together and smashed them into the ground. "Reverse Gravity!" All the enemies flew high into the sky and came crashing back down. They all landed and shattered into pieces. Every soldier looked over the battlefield speechless for a few moments, and then they started cheering.

Ronan ran up and pulled Arme into a hug. "You did it, that was amazing!" Arme's face turned bright red but she didn't care. Elesis and Ryan walked up to the two of them.

"What's this Ronan, couldn't handle it yourself so you had to have us chosen help you out." Ronan turned and shot a death glare at Elesis and Elesis shot one right back. Ryan stepped back, not wanting to get caught between the two, and went to congratulate Arme. As Ronan and Elesis glared at each other the ground shook, again. Ronan looked at Ryan but he just shrugged not knowing what was going on. As everyone was trying to figure out what was going on, a giant, fat, white skinned man-like being with two giant red, spiked club jumped into the field.

"A mongbang!" Ronan yelled as Ryan gripped his axe. "No don't attack it, that fat works like a strong shield. We need to hit it with magic or we have to fire arrows into it's head." He turned to Arme, "I didn't get enough sleep and that spell I used earlier wore me out do you have any energy left?" Arme shook her head. "Dammit, our mages are probably out of energy as well. mongbangs are to strong it would be able to destroy half the castle before we take it down if we rely on the archers." Ronan ordered everyone back to the castle.

Arme climbed up the ladder and met up with Lire while Ronan, Elesis and Ryan took a position around the castle gate alongside the other soldiers. "If I could weaken it with a spell then we may have had a chance to win," Ronan muttered to himself. The mongbang moved closer and closer to the gate. Once the mongbang was within striking distance of Ronan it raised it's club. Ronan braced himself for impact.

"Thunder Blade!" The mongbang dropped it's club which landed with a big thud. The mongbang turned around to see who attacked it. There stood general Grant. He was covered in blood and pieces of his black armor were gone. Grant slowly struggled to raise his sword as the mongbang moved towards him. He turned his sword over and shoved the blade into the ground. Energy began to form around Grant. It moved his sword into the ground. "Incineration!" A giant tower of flames appeared at the mongbang's feet. The flames rose from the ground, completely engulfing the mongbang. When the flames died away, nothing was left of the mongbang. Grant gripped his sword, using it to support himself as he struggled to stand.

"Go and get General Grant!" Ronan barked at the soldiers behind him. The soldiers ran out and picked up the general. "Get him some medical aid, now!"

"Yes Sir!" The soldiers carried Grant into the castle.

Lire and Arme slid down the ladder. Ronan turned and walked up to Ryan. "Excuse me but may I ask your name?"

"Name's Ryan, I came with Elesis from the elven forest."

Lire and Arme slid down the ladder and came to meet with Ronan and Elesis. "Lire, Arme, could you please show Ryan to the mansion. Ask Thomas to prepare a room for him and another for Elesis." Lire and Arme took Ryan and headed towards the mansion.

Elesis walked up to Ronan. "Uncle Thomas can still stand to work for you? That's amazing."

Ronan shot Elesis an evil glare. "Don't blame me because Thomas always treated me better."

"Oh please, he only acted like that because your father saved his life. And how many times did my dad save yours?"

"Who cares about that, my sister saved your father way more times than he saved mine."

"Errr... captain Ronan, general Grant is requesting to see you." Elesis gave Ronan a funny look.

Ronan shook off Elesis' look. "Thank you, tell him I'll be there shortly."

"You, captain? I never though I'd see the day. I guess a lot can happen when you leave for a couple of months"

"Just consider yourself lucky that I'm letting you come with me to see uncle Raq."

"I feel so honoured," She shot back sarcastically.

Ronan and Elesis went into the castle and were led into a room where Grant was being treated for his injuries.

"Uncle Raq, Are you ok?" Grant slowly opened his eyes.

"I thought that it was you I saw Elesis, welcome back. Don't worry Elesis, I'll be just fine, tomorrow the mages will be rested and their healing magic will get me back on my feet." Elesis sighed in relief.

"Uncle Raq can I ask you what happened out there. How on earth could you be injured so badly?"

"As me and the spellknights were fighting, Gaikoz himself appeared."

"Gaikoz came personally!"

"Yes, I was winning but as we fought all his henchman started bombarding me. Normally I would have been able to handle such an attack but with Gaikoz there it was just to much for me. Every other knight I took with me was lost."

"Dammit."

"Ronan get some rest tonight and bring the chosen girls and Elesis to the war room tomorrow. We have no time left, we have to come up with a plan and launch our own attack on Gaikoz."

"I agree, Uncle Raq."

"I'll be there to."

"Thank you Elesis. Now go and let me rest."

Ronan Grabbed Elesis and led her out of Grant's room. Neither of them felt like arguing with each other after seeing the man they both looked up to in such a state so they just silently walked to Ronan's home.

* * *

Well there's another chapter in the bag. The next chapter will be a short one where they get ready for the battle against Gaikoz (One of my favorite bosses in the game). 2nd jobs will be coming soon and I'm just going to say this now. I do not want to hear "This person's 1st job is better than their 2nd or 3rd or whatever else. In this story each character will go through their job line from 1st to 4th and each job will be stronger than the last so do not flame me about turning Arme into an alchemist or not having Ronan as a 3rd job at the end of the story, I don't want to hear it.


	8. The plan of attack

Ok I'm back. This one came rather quickly but then again it's just a short sub-chapter where they get ready for the battle with Gaikoz, which I've had several parts of planned out for quite some time so it shouldn't be a ridiculously long time for that chapter either.

As always enjoy.

* * *

Elesis awoke after a long restful sleep. It was the first good sleep she had had for a long while. She jumped out of her bed and ran to the closet. "I_t's good to be home,"_ she thought to herself before reaching in and pulling out the red kimono that she used to wear so much before. "_It's been to long since I got to wear this,_" she thought happily as she got dressed. She walked out of her room and ran into Thomas.

"Good morning, miss Elesis," Thomas greeted her, "It's a pleasure to have you back with us."

"It's nice to see you again to, Thomas."

"Your friend, master Ryan, is already awake although master Ronan, miss Lire and miss Arme are still sleeping."

"That makes sense it was a pretty hectic battle last night. So, where's Ryan?"

"Ah, master Ryan is currently eating breakfast in the dining room. Will you be joining him?"

Elesis stomached grumbled at her. "I guess I probably should." Elesis and Thomas walked to the kitchen where Ryan was sitting at the table, shoving platefuls of food into his mouth. "Hungry?" Elesis asked him, giggling.

Ryan swallowed his food and turned to Elesis. "You have to try this stuff, the maids are amazing cooks."

Elesis turned to the maids. "Hi Lily, Violet, Rose, I haven't seen you girls in a long time." The maids all hugged Elesis and greeted her. "Can I get some breakfast, girls?" The maids all headed into the kitchen to prepare Elesis' breakfast.

"Been here before?""

"When my father and Ronan's father left to try and destroy Kaze'aze me and my mother moved in here because my mother was to sickly to work."

"So you got to eat food like this everyday?" Elesis looked at Ryan disbelievingly, "Sorry, go on."

"So me and my mom moved in here and after we got the news that my father was gone, my mom died. Suddenly Ronan and the servants here were the only family I had left."

"So you're related to that Ronan guy?"

"Not by blood but he's definitely my brother."

"So your father died and Ronan's father took care of you?"

"No, Ronan's father died a while before mine and his mother had died a bit earlier, just a little while after we got the message about my father, his sister disappeared without a trace."

Ryan just sat there with no idea what he should say. He was saved when the maids came rushing out and placed six plates in front of Elesis, she immediately started eating. "You can sure eat a lot," Ryan commented with a big grin on his face.

"Not as much as you," She said with her mouth full while motioning towards the twenty, or so, empty plates in front of Ryan. Elesis and Ryan laughed and Elesis kept eating. After about ten plates of food Lire came into the dining room. "Hey Lire, you're finally up."

"Good morning Elesis." Lire looked at Ryan as if she was trying to remember something.

"Ryan," He reminded her.

"Right, Ryan."

"Good morning, miss Lire, would you like some breakfast." Lire nodded and the maids ran back into the kitchen. Lire ate breakfast although she ate only one plate unlike Elesis and Ryan.

"Hey Lire, are Arme and Ronan up yet?"

"No, they're worn out from using magic last night."

"Does it really take that much energy?"

"Well if you're trained to use magic like Arme then you can lower the amount of needed energy but yes magic can wear you out very quickly when using spells like the ones they used last night."

Elesis looked confused, "Forget it, I'm gonna take a bath."

Lire got a dreamy look in her eyes. "I'll join you Elesis."

"Me to," Elesis looked at Ryan strangely, "What do I have food on my face?" Elesis shrugged off Ryan's odd comment and headed to the bath with Lire.

Elesis sighed with relief, "4 months since I've bathed in here, that's just way to long for me."

"I've never been in a hotspring, I wonder what it feels like."

"Hotsprings feel amaz-" Elesis stopped abruptly and turned around to see Ryan, naked with a big grin plastered on his face. Elesis' entire face turned crimson in less than a second.

Lire just smiled and waved to Ryan, "Come on in, it feels great."

"Will do," Ryan jumped into the hot spring right in front of Elesis. "Wow, this really does feel good. Hey Elesis you all right? your face is really red and your shaking."

"If you're gonna be in here **AT LEAST** go to the other side of the bath!" She screamed at him. Ryan looked confused but he just shrugged it off and swam to the other end of the bath. "What the hell does he think he's doing?"

"I think that he thinks he's taking a bath." Lire responded.

Elesis shot Lire a confused glance, "But we're in here right now."

This time Lire was the one to look confused, "A bath's a bath whether me and you are here or not."

"But Lire he's a boy and we're girls, he shouldn't be in here while we are."

Now Lire looked really confused. She swam over to where Ryan was and started talking to him. Elesis couldn't hear what they were saying, partly because she was trying to ignore them, but she noticed that Ryan had started to look really confused and only got more confused the more Lire said. The two swam back to Elesis.

"Elesis why don't you want me in here right now?" Ryan asked her.

"Because you're a boy."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Why don't you go and ask Ronan why you shouldn't be in here at the same time as me. I'm sure he has plenty to say and do to you for it."

"Do to me?"

"Get out." Elesis growled slowly and vehemently.

"Oh, I guess you like to bathe alone," Lire decided, "I'll go to then."

Lire and Ryan got out of the bath together, got redressed and left Elesis alone. Elesis sunk back down into the bath water grumbling to herself. After she was finished her bath (she made an effort to finish very quickly) she went to Ronan's room, woke him up and told him what had just happened. Ronan charged down the stairs and grabbed Ryan, who was speaking with Lire and Arme, by his hair.

Ronan pulled Ryan up so they were face to face. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" he asked Ryan slowly.

Ryan looked confused again, as did Lire and Arme. "What are you talking about?"

"Why did you think you could get in the bath while Elesis was in there?"

"What would've led me to believe I couldn't? She hadn't kicked Lire out at that point so I didn't know that she liked to bathe alone."

Ronan and Arme looked at him like he was a complete idiot and Elesis tried to avoid looking at him at all. Lire, on the other hand, looked completely confused.

"Sir Ronan, Why wouldn't Ryan be allowed to get in the bath at that time considering he didn't know she liked to bathe alone?"

Elesis then retold them what happened so that Arme would know what the hell was going on and, afterwards, Ronan began to lecture Ryan and Lire about why it was not ok for Ryan to get into the bath with them.

"So you're saying that boys aren't supposed to see girls naked and vice-versa?"

"There are always exceptions but, yes. It is immoral for men to be naked around women unless in specific situations."

"You'll have to explain those later then, but for now I'll apologize. Elves are different from humans so I'm sorry."

"how is it with elves?" Arme questioned curiously.

"Well, elves only wear clothes for warmth." Ryan explained.

"That's right," Lire added in, "Back on Eryuel island everyone would walk around naked if it was hot out."

"It's just skin," Ryan added.

"Well it's different with humans so you should probably respect the way we do things whenever you're in human towns."

"Right. It's a good thing you told me this now because it's pretty warm here and I was about to take my clothes off." Ryan laughed.

"Me to, actually." Lire added.

"I just have one more question," Arme interjected then turned to Elesis, "So Lire wasn't acting weird at all when you guys were in the hotspring?"

"No why would she?"

"No reason." Arme shot a death glare at Lire who was hiding behind Ryan.

Just as everyone was about to ask just what in the hell Arme was talking about, Thomas entered. "Master Ronan, there is a message from General Grant. He wants you, miss Elesis and our three guests to come to the war room in the castle."

"Thank you Thomas, is there anything else?"

"No, Master Ronan. Please excuse me I have business to attend to."

"You heard the man everyone, grab your weapons, we're headed to the castle."

Everyone collected their weapons and traded their kimonos for armour before heading off to the castle. When they arrived they were escorted to the room where Ronan and the lieutenant planned the defence plan for the night before. Waiting for them was general Grant and on the table in the middle of the room was a large map. Everyone approached the table and as soon as everyone was seated Grant began his briefing.

"This is a map of Gaikoz's castle." He explained, "There are three entrance points to the castle." Grant then pointed at the main gate of the castle as well as two smaller gates located in the back right and back left of the circular wall surrounding the castle. "Gaikoz has stationed troops at all three entrances but he doesn't know that we know about the two back entrances so there are less troops stationed there."

"So our main strategy point is to be able to get troops into the back entrances." Ronan concluded.

"Indeed. Unfortunately the enemies give constant signals to Gaikoz and he can redirect the troops as he sees fit from anywhere within his castle. Therefore we will need a team to attack the front gate as a distraction."

"General, I will take this responsibilty."

"No Ronan you will not. I will take approximately 50 knights with me and attack the front gate."

"But sir it makes more sense for you to be the one searching for Gaikoz, since you are the only one here with a real chance of defeating him."

"It will do no good Ronan. Gaikoz knows my face and no matter which entrance I enter from Gaikoz will redirect troops towards it. Entering from a back entrance would set me closer to Gaikoz but that only increases the chance of Gaikoz coming to fight alongside his troops. However if I was to attack where the most troops are stationed he will most likely redirect even more troops towards there making it easier for the infiltration teams to find and defeat him."

"I see. It's a good plan general. I will stay and defend the castle while you are gone."

"Ronan may I ask you to stop assigning yourself jobs. I have already decided that you will be on one of the infiltration teams. Now please look back to map everyone." Grant pointed at the back left entrance. "He has stationed several mongbangs here. I know that you had trouble dealing with one last night but that is why the team to invade here will consist of Ronan and Arme." Grant then pointed at the back right entrance. "Here Gaikoz has stationed dark mages. Their magic is strong but they are frail to weapons of steel and iron therefore the infiltration team for this area will be Miss Elesis, Miss Lire and also our young elven friend here."

"Sorry I forgot to introduce myself to you General. I'm Ryan of the elven forest."

"Welcome Ryan, from what I saw of you last night you are quite a skillful warrior. I am honored to welcome you to our ranks."

"So General," Ronan interjected, "The plan is to send in the three that we know are chosen as well as Ryan and myself to infiltrate Gaikoz's castle and defeat him while you create a distraction at the front gate."

"Yes, although Gaikoz has the ability to receive signals from every troop he cannot read so many at once. If he receives many signals from the front gate he will focus his attention there thereby deviating his attention from you."

"I see, it is a very good plan but I have on last question. With both you and I away from the castle who will lead the knights and defend the queen?"

"I thought about that fact as well Ronan, so I went and found someone who was strong enough, smart enough and willing to take our place and defend the castle while we are away." Grant then turned to a door opposite the one that everyone entered from. "You may enter now." The door opened and Thomas walked through wearing a sleeveless shirt and tight, martial arts pants. This outfit showed that he was far more muscular than his butler attire would lead one to believe.

"I am honored to serve as your replacement, General Grant."

"Thank you for accepting Sir Thomas."

"Well if Thomas is here then there really is nothing to worry about." Ronan decided.

"I agree." Elesis chimed in.

"Now then get some rest tonight. Ronan, Arme make sure you two especially get enough sleep as you will need all the magic you can possibly muster for this mission. We will be conducting our mission tomorrow night as the sun sets so be prepared by then. Also, Sir Thomas will be staying in the soldiers barracks for the night. That is all, thank you all for coming to meet with me and be sure that you get plenty of rest before it is time for the mission." Grant and Thomas then left the room to speak in private.

"This will be the biggest mission any of us has ever been a part of I'm sure." Ronan began, "But please do all you can to make it successful." Everyone nodded, "Thank you everybody." Ronan then turned to Lire and Arme, "I know you two wanted to go and see Kanavan's castle town but we no longer have the time today. However, I promise that the day after tomorrow I will take you all out to the town." With that they all headed back to the mansion. Ronan and Ryan ended up moving faster than the girls, who lost sight of them.

After the boys were out of earshot Lire turned and smiled at Arme. "I bet you're happy that you get to spend some alone time with Ronan tomorrow aren't you."

"We're going on a mission, and for the last time I'm not interested in him."

"Ok fine you're not interested in him, Though I kind of am. Maybe I'll see if he'll spend some time with me tonight."

"LIRE!" Arme screamed angrily.

Elesis looked confused, "When did Lire start acting like that?"

"The moment she found something she could tease me with."

"On a different note. You're interested in Ronan?"

"Maybe a little."

"Oh sure but you deny it when I ask."

"That's because you won't stop bugging me about it." Arme looked at Lire angrily, "I'm still angry about the hotspring thing, by the way."

"Shutting up."

"Well just be careful around Ronan, Arme. He's usually a nice guy but he has an insane temper when it comes to certain things."

"We've seen it. Back before you guys showed up he though that General Grant was dead and he almost cut the lieutenants head off."

"Uncle Raq dieing would do that to him."

"By the way Elesis, How do you know Ronan so well?"

"I lived with him before I went to Serdin to join the Grand Chase. Our father's were really good friends and since my mother and father were both dead and Ronan was old enough he became my guardian although really he was more like my big brother than anything else."

"Is that why you ran to him when Ryan upset you earlier?"

"Shut up."

"So you and Ronan are like siblings then."

"Always were, right down to constantly arguing almost every time we see each other. Doesn't matter how we treat each other he's my brother, I love him and he loves me."

"You love Ronan?"

"I love him but I'm not in love with him. He's all yours Arme." The rest of the girls walk was silent until they got to the mansion where everyone ate and had baths (Boys and girls separately, of course). After they were finished they made sure everything was ready and retired to bed for an almost sleepless night.

* * *

Alright now that that's done I can get started on the Gaikoz battle chapter. I know this was a very short chapter in comparison to most of mine but it wasn't meant to be long and I just had to make a big joke out of the hot springs so... yeah. Review and be sure to watch for the next chapter.


	9. Gaikoz part 1

Ok I'm sorry this took so long but I had a project over christmas and when I got back I had the lead in a play and 4 other projects and now the semesters over (Thank the almighty lord) and in my next semester I get a study block so that means more time for this (because I really do write better and faster when I'm supposed to be doing work)

well as always enjoy and feel relieved by the fact that I actually haven't died or been kidnapped

* * *

The sun shone brightly through the window into the guest room of the Erudon family estate. Ryan slowly opened his eyes and dragged himself out of bed. He walked over to the window to check the sundial which was in the yard behind the house. "_Geez, it's late,_" he thought "_I'm hungry. I'm gonna go and get some lunch._" Ryan got dressed and headed toward the kitchen. He got to the dining room to find Lire and Arme sitting at the table watching Elesis and Ronan yell at each other. He was still half asleep and couldn't make out what the two kanavanians were saying. Ryan walked through the dining room into the kitchen were he woke himself up by dumping ice water on himself. Afterwards he grabbed some food and headed back out into the dining room. Just as he sat down Elesis let out a big yawn.

"You tired?" Ronan asked politely.

"Yeah, a bit," Elesis responded, "I think I'm gonna go take a nap."

"Good idea I think I will to."

"Sweet dreams."

"Sleep well."

After that Ronan and Elesis walked out of the room. With food hanging out of his mouth, Ryan turned to see Arme and Lire sitting there looking very shocked.

"What's wrong with you two? Looks like you seen a ghost."

"Elesis and Ronan." Arme replied.

"What the hell happened that's got you two so quiet?"

"Well," Lire began, "It all started when we were eating lunch. Elesis walked over and grabbed some meat off of Ronan's plate so Ronan called her a brat. After that Elesis turned and called him a dork. Then they somehow started arguing over whether a spellknight like Ronan or a knight like Elesis was stronger. Somehow that devolved into whether knightmaster Aurora or general Grant is stronger. Then it turned into whether beef or pork is better which turned into what type of fish tastes better. That devolved into whether water from a river or water from a well tastes better. I don't know how but that became an argument over who has a better hairstyle and then Elesis yawned and, well you saw the rest.

Ryan stared at Lire for a long time before asking, "What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say they actually were siblings," Arme chimed in.

"Oh that's nothing new," One of the maids told them, "They're always like that, ready to kill each other one moment and best friends the next."

"Real siblings are actually like that?" Ryan questioned.

"You're an only child?" Arme asked.

"I don't know. When the orcs attacked I lost all my memories and ended up being found by a different elven clan than the one where I was born. There was one guy who was kinda like family to me since he had lost his memories in the attack to. He was such a great guy, he was the only Viken in our clan."

"You're clan still had the ability to train Vikens?" Lire asked, very surprised, "Amazing I didn't think that Vikens could exist anymore."

"What's a Viken?" Arme asked.

"A very powerful, elven warrior," Ryan explained, "It is the highest rank any elf can achieve. They carry their scythes into battle and shred all who would harm their clan to pieces."

"Wow, the highest rank any elf warrior can achieve. They must be amazing."

"Indeed, not just anyone can become a Viken and there has only ever been one person who was chosen by the elven gods to ascend above that rank."

"Magna Dan." Ryan spoke with great admiration, "The greatest warrior any elf clan has ever seen. With the storm blades that the gods handed down to him he struck down all his foes. The gods granted upon him the great title of Vanquisher."

"Vanquisher? sounds powerful."

"Yeah, but Magna Dan is no more than an elven myth. He never really existed."

"He didn't?"

"No, it's just a story handed down to encourage our warriors to train as hard as they possibly could."

"To bad. If we could get someone like Magna Dan to help us then we would defeat Kaze'aze easily."

"Yeah definitely." Ryan sighed, "I'm still hungry. I'm gonna get more to eat, you two should follow Ronan and Elesis' example and get some more sleep we have a big battle waiting for us later.

"What about you."

"When I'm done eating."

"When will that be? When there's nothing left."

"Shut up."

Ryan headed towards the kitchen while Lire and Arme headed back up to their rooms so they could get some more sleep in anticipation of the great battle that awaited them.

* * *

As night approached everyone began to prepare. Everyone prepared their weapons and Armor and went to meet with general Grant at the castle before heading to Gaikoz's castle. At the leftmost entrance, Ronan and Arme were hiding behind some bushes and awaiting their chance to strike.

"How's it look?" Arme asked.

"Not yet."

"We're supposed to go after the troops stationed here leave, right?"

"Only if we see Grant's signal."

"His signal is the incineration spell?"

"That's right."

"This'll be dangerous, be careful. I don't want anyone to die. _Especially you._

"Look!" Arme looked up to see a giant pillar of fire rising to the sky. "That's it, we go when only one mongbang remains, make sure you're ready."

* * *

_"_How much longer do we have to wait before we get to start smashing those things?" Ryan asked.

"Well, first we have to wait for the signal and after that we have to wait for the dark mages to reach a suitable level before we actually start going." Lire explained, "Elesis how does it look?"

"There's at least ten mages if not more and the signal still hasn't gone off so we wouldn't be moving even if they did start to leave."

"How many dark mages should there be when we attack."

"I say three. Lire can use her arrows to distract them while me and you rush in and destroy them before they cast anything."

"Sounds good to me, I'll aim for their heads and you two get to them and finish them off as soon as possible."

"Look!" Elesis and Lire looked back at the castle to see an enormous pillar of fire rising to the sky, "That's the signal, get ready girls it's almost time."

* * *

Grant stood before the great gate with 50 soldiers behind him. Grant turned to address his soldiers.

"This will be the greatest battle Kanavan has ever faced, you all can be proud of the fact that you aided in ending the rain of terror brought to us by the phantom knight!" All the soldiers cheered, "Soon we will be charging through this gate and our battle will begin. Some of us may not make it back but know that any who die will forever be known as heroes!"

The soldiers all cheered again. One of the soldiers stepped in front of the rest. "General, you are Kanavan's greatest hero and the reason I decided to become a soldier. I think I speak for every one of us here when I say that we are ready to lay down our lives before you and make Kanavan a better place for everyone!" All the soldiers cheered again.

"Excellent. All of you are great heroes of Kanavan, your devotion will inspire many and Kanavan will continue to flourish for all eternity. Now, Charge!" Grant lifted his blade and jammed it into the ground. "Incineration!" He yelled as he incinerated the heavy gate with the scorching hot flames which flew up from the ground. "All soldiers Charge!" He yelled as he ran into the enemies on the other side of the gate. "_The rest is up to you."

* * *

_

Ronan carefully watched the western gate as he awaited the chance to charge in. Slowly the scouts and guards began to leave one by one. "Dammit, Gaikoz is redirecting everything but the mongbangs to the front gate."

"Without all the others with them then we may be able to defeat the three mongbangs and get in."

"Not likely. Even if we did manage to get rid of all three, one of us would get hit in the process and if you get hit by a mongbangs club then you won't be getting up for awhile."

"Do you know any defensive spells?"

"Yes, but it's nowhere near strong enough to defend against a mongbang's attack."

"Mine either. We don't have any more time to waste here, we have to get in there."

"I think we just may be able to, look." Arme looked at the gate to see one of the three mongbangs leaving. "You're right Arme, we don't have time to waste here so you handle the one on the left and I'll take the one on the right."

"Ok." Ronan charged out followed close behind by Arme. They split up and went to their respective targets. "Shining Wind!" Arme yelled as an enormous gale of golden wind began swirling around the mongbang. It continued to rise until you could no longer see the mongbang and then shredded it into pieces which were so small they could not be seen.

Ronan ran around his target to disorient it before charging energy into his hand. He raised his hand to the sky and pulled it down with force, "Blast bomb!" He yelled as a giant ball of fire fell from the sky and landed on the mongbang. When it landed it made a large and powerful explosion, ending the mongbang's life.

Arme, panting heavily, walked up to Ronan who was also panting. "Nice spell."

"Thanks, yours to."

"Takes to much energy for someone at my level to use often, though."

"I can barely use high level spells as it is. I'm not even sure if I have another one in me."

"lets keep moving, we have to find Gaikoz and meet up with the others."

"Looks like we'll be fighting our way through." He commented as he motioned towards the scouts that had appeared behind Arme. "You still have plenty of energy for your lower level spells, right?"

"Of course, let's go."

* * *

The dark mages had been slowly leaving the eastern gate. "Four left," Ryan told the girls, "It's almost time, be ready." Elesis nodded and Lire notched an arrow into her bow. They watched as more and more of the troops left until finally they were down to three dark mages.

Lire nodded and fired the arrow. She quickly reloaded and fired off five in rapid succession. The arrows hit the dark mages in the face. Elesis and Ryan charged forward. Ryan spun around cleaving two of the dark mages in half. Elesis rushed forward and slashed the remaining mage, dropping it in an instant.

Lire ran out to join the others. "That seemed to easy," She commented.

"Maybe Gaikoz is just an idiot," Elesis responded.

"Elesis, he lured Grant out of the castle so his troops could close in while he was gone. He's not an idiot."

"Sure isn't," Ryan chimed in, "Just take a look, that really was to easy."

Elesis and Lire turned around to see a large number of scouts and guards coming towards them. "Damn."

"You girls get going and find your way to Gaikoz, we can't leave Ronan and Arme to fight alone. Don't worry about me, if I get into real trouble then I have a secret weapon that should appear."

Lire looked confused but Elesis looked at him knowingly, "Just try to make sure it doesn't have to, ok?" Ryan turned and nodded as Elesis grabbed Lire's arm and dragged her deeper into the castle.

Ryan stretched his arms behind his head as the enemies approached him. He grabbed his axe and prepared to dash towards them. "Well then, let's see if you've got anything worth the time of the last remaining druid of the great Irian tribe!"

* * *

Grant and his men had been fighting the troops with all their might but for every one they destroyed two took it's place.

"Just how many of these things could Gaikoz have around here!" One of the soldiers yelled.

"We cannot back down! The moment we retreat every troop will be sent to Gaikoz's side to fight the infiltration teams!" Grant shouted to his troops.

"If we can't win here then we have to stall them for as long as we possibly can!" The lieutenant yelled to the troops.

As they fought the number of enemies slowly began to dwindle until there were none left. All the soldiers cheered but Grant silenced them. "Gaikoz is planning something. There were more troops than we just fought were with Gaikoz when he returned from his march towards the castle and I have no doubt that he would make more in the day and a half we gave him. He's planning something."

"what should we do General?" The lieutenant asked.

"All of you wait here and prepare to fight at any time, I am going within the castle."

"Yes sir," The lieutenant turned to the troops, "You heard the General men. Rest and regain your energy but be prepared to begin battle again at a moment's notice."

General Grant disappeared through the castle doors but all the soldiers remained vigilant. As soon as General Grant was out of sight one of the soldiers sent to look around the perimeter of the castle came charging back. "S-sir, we have a big problem!"

"What's wrong!" the lieutenant asked. His question did not need answering as he looked down the wall of the castle and saw three mongbangs come around the corner.

"Sir! over here as well!" The lieutenant spun on his heels to see three more mongbangs coming from around the other corner. As the six mongbangs closed in on the soldiers the lieutenant turned to the three youngest soldiers among the troops.

"You three go and bring General Grant back, quickly! The rest of you get ready, we have a difficult battle ahead but we must hold out until the General returns."

* * *

Ronan and Arme had been breaking through Gaikoz' guards for some time until they finally reached the heart of the castle.

Ronan looked around, "Gaikoz isn't here," he claimed.

"Then where is he?"

"I don't know but I think we should wait here and meet up with Elesis and the others before we keep going."

"There isn't a very far left to go, but you're right we shouldn't move on until they get here."

Ronan sat down keeping his sword unsheathed and ready in his hands. "Thank you, miss Arme. I wouldn't have been able to do this if you hadn't been with me."

Arme blushed a little, "It's ok Ronan, I need to get to Ellia and the only way to get the boats sailing again is to beat Gaikoz."

"I see. Well thank you all the same, I'm glad that you are with me."

Arme turned away from him to hide how red her face was, "Don't worry about it."

"Ronan!" Ronan turned around to see Elesis charging him furiously, "Did you make Arme cry!" She yelled at him.

"What the hell gave you that idea!" He yelled back.

"She's holding her face!"

"You're a complete idiot!"

"No you are!"

"You are!"

As Elesis and Ronan argued like children, Lire checked on Arme. "Is something wrong?" Arme shook her head and looked up at Lire. Lire saw how red Arme's face was and knew what happened. She giggled, "Don't worry Arme."

"About what?"

"Never mind," Lire looked at Ronan and Elesis, "Those two are probably the only people I know who would argue right in front of Gaikoz's place." Arme giggled.

Ronan and Elesis stopped and walked over to Lire and Arme. "So we've decided that it's about time we get in there and fight Gaikoz," Elesis told them.

"What exactly did you two argue about to come to that conclusion?" Arme asked bewildered.

"Well..."

"STOP!" Lire screamed, "I DO NOT want to hear it."

They all laughed and Ronan noticed something, "Where's Ryan?" he asked.

"Did you just notice that?" Elesis responded.

"Shut up brat."

"Dork."

"Stop it!"

"Sorry."

"How the hell did you two manage to live together for so long?"

"It just becomes routine, I guess," Ronan answered, "Anyways back to my original question, Where is Ryan?"

"He stayed behind to buy us time to get here."

"Will he be alright?"

"You don't have to worry about Ryan." Elesis claimed, "he's stronger than any of us, trust me."

"Fine."

"Anyways I think it's about time we got to Gaikoz."

"Agreed." The four warriors went through the last gate. Once through they saw a tall man in red and purple armour with Gold rimming. Instead of a face he had only a white mask and two glowing red circles for eyes.

"Welcome to my castle young fighters." Gaikoz said in a raspy voice, "I have been waiting for you."

Ronan walked ahead of the girls, "I am Ronan Erudon of Kanavan. I have come today to demand that your attacks on Kanavan stop!"

"Foolish boy. Demands can only be made when one has the power to back them up."

"The four of us have more than enough power to defeat you."

Gaikoz let out a low hollow laugh, "Do you really believe that?"

"I do."

"Well then show me this power which you believe you possess." Gaikoz reached behind him and pulled out a long Katana which matched his armor. Ronan charged, stabbing at Gaikoz with his sword. Gaikoz side-stepped the stab and jumped back creating distance. He then placed his sword at the ground and swung it upwards throwing several large stones at Ronan. Ronan jumped back to avoid the stones and join up with the girls who were all waiting in fighting positions. Gaikoz laughed, "You call that power?" Gaikoz dashed at an incredible speed. Before the warriors knew what had happened Gaikoz was behind them and they all had new injuries. Ronan turned towards Gaikoz with a look of disbelief on his face. "You didn't honestly think that you could keep up with me, did you?"

"Dammit, he's to strong," Ronan fell to his knees, dropping his sword.

"Shut up!" Ronan looked up to see Elesis struggling to get to her feet. "I don't care how fast or strong you are, don't act so damned cocky!"Elesis then turned to Ronan, "And since when do you give up so easily?"

Ronan stared at Elesis for a little while before a sly grin crept across his face and he stood up. "Sorry about that but I'm back now."

"You will lose all the same."

"I don't think so, Gaikoz, not this time." Ronan charged grinding his sword against Gaikoz's. As they ground their swords together Elesis ran around to Gaikoz's back. She swung her sword gashing the back of Gaikoz's armour. Ronan used the opening to slash and put a gash in the front of Gaikoz's armour. He and Elesis both jumped back and took their fighting stances again.

"I will admit that fighting two warriors with a moderate amount of skill alone is not the easiest task in the world." Gaikoz said confidently, "But don't think that this means you will defeat me."

"Two warriors?"

"I think that you've forgotten something very important."

As they spoke an arrow came flying through the small opening made by Elesis's sword slash. Gaikoz reeled in pain but recovered very quickly. He reached back and pulled the arrow out of his back. "Thank you," He said, "I had forgotten what pain feels like and now that I have felt it once again I know that it is something which I must absolutely avoid!" Gaikoz turned quickly slashing 3 more arrows out of the air. "Why don't you just come out?" Gaikoz taunted, "Firing arrows from the shadows will do you no good anymore. I have memorized the sound of the arrows flying through the air and I've memorized the reaction timing I need to stop them." Lire jumped out with a look of complete disbelief on her face. "Don't look so surprised, I was the greatest warrior before my death. memorizing my opponents abilities could only come naturally."

"_Nice try Gaikoz but we're not out of tricks yet."_Elesis tapped her sword against the ground twice before re-taking her fighting stance. Ronan looked at her trying to figure out what was going on and Elesis winked at him. Ronan nodded, understanding what she meant. Elesis charged towards Gaikoz, holding her sword low below her waist. As she approached she lifted her sword slightly and tried to attack Gaikoz from the side. Gaikoz jumped high, completely avoiding the attack.

"Did you earnestly believe that you could hit me with that? How stupid."

"Say what you want but the stupid ones are the people who fall into obvious traps."

"Wha-," Gaikoz was cut off as he was bombarded by icicles, fireballs and wind blades in rapid succession. After the bombardment had finished Gaikoz hit the ground with a thud.

"I don't care how great a warrior you are, you still won't have much control when you're in the air."

Gaikoz slowly staggered to his feet. "Foolish girl, you have barely had a taste of my true power."

"Then why don't you hurry up and show us, or do you just want us to finish you off now?"

"Very well then, girl." Gaikoz took his sword in both hands and lifted it above his head. He slashed at the air in front of him multiple times at various angles. when he stopped a kanji appeared in the air in front of him. Energy began to form around the kanji and slowly began to flow into Gaikoz. Gaikoz's posture became more upright and his armor began repairing itself. Arme jumped out of her hiding place and threw several fireballs at Gaikoz in an attempt to stop his healing. The energy formed a shield as it flowed into Gaikoz reflecting the fireballs into the ground. After a short time the energy stopped flowing and the kanji dissapeared. Gaikoz stood upright with no injuries to speak of. "Now then, I believe you wanted to see my true power."

Gaikoz disappeared. He reappeared on a platform far up near the top of the castle. Gaikoz lifted his sword and swung it down with force creating an air blade which flew towards Elesis at a ridiculous speed. Lire grabbed Elesis and dove out of the way moments before it hit the ground leaving an enormous gaping hole. Ronan glared at Elesis, "God dammit why did you have to provoke this out of him you idiot!"

"I had no idea he would be that strong." Gaikoz disappeared again this time reappearing just in front of Arme. He held his sword to the side and prepared to attack. Arme slammed her eyes shut and waited for it but suddenly she felt as if she had been pushed. She opened her eyes to see Ronan standing where she was with Gaikoz's sword slicing through his armor. Gaikoz romoved his sword and dissapeared again. Arme rushed up to Ronan who was bleeding everywhere.

"Are you ok?"

"Don't worry about me just go help Elesis and Lire. We need your full power if we want to stand any chance of winning here." Arme looked back to Lire and Elesis who were looking around trying to figure out where Gaikoz would come from next. She formed a small blue energy in her hand and used it to temporarily stop Ronan's stomach from bleeding.

"That should at least stop you from dieing so hide and wait for us." Ronan nodded and staggered away to a safer place. Arme rushed over and joined Elesis and Lire. "Are you two ok?"

"Yeah we're fine for now but how is Ronan?"

"He won't die as long as Gaikoz doesn't get to him."

"Ok good."

"You girls are very foolish if you believe you have a chance to defeat me now."

"Up there!" Gaikoz was standing on the platforms near the top of the castle again. He began slashing the air again, drawing another kanji. This time the kanji glowed red and disappeared reappearing in front of the girls along with Gaikoz. The kanji grew brighter and brighter until an enormous ring of fire appeared around the girls. Gaikoz walked through the fire and approached the girls.

"Nowhere left for you to run," he said threateningly.

Lire and Arme stepped back behind Elesis who held her sword up, defensively. Gaikoz moved closer and closer. Suddenly the fire disappeared. Gaikoz spun around quickly to find that the Kanji had been destroyed and in the spot where the Kanji was there stood a large, orange wolf.

* * *

Once again I'd like to apologize as I know this took to long but now my exams are over and I couldn't be happier about it. Well this was actually only half of what the chapter was originally meant to be but when I saw how long it had gotten I decided to split in in two so be sure to read the next chapter for the conclusion of the battle with Gaikoz.

As always review and have a nice day.


	10. Gaikoz part 2

What took me so long, hard classes. Calculus, Physics and Chemistry and they all decided to jump into their hardest units at the same time, one hard unit after another. But now those units are over and I can stop and think without losing marks. Again apologies for taking nearly 2 months to upload but now I promise it'll go much faster.

As always enjoy.

* * *

Gaikoz stared at the wolf who had destroyed his Kanji. "Just what are you?" He asked in his deep raspy voice. The wolf glared at Gaikoz with it's eerie, yellow eyes. "Can't talk I see." The wolf let out a small quiet bark. "Would you like the first move? Or shall I take it?"

The wolf lunged from it's hind legs, bearing it's claws. Gaikoz raised his arm, using the shield attached to it to block the wolf's claw. Gaikoz swung his sword with one hand attempting to cleave the wolf in half. The wolf jumped above the swing and swung his claw down leaving a large scratch on Gaikoz's armor. Gaikoz jumped back, dropped his sword so it was almost dragging on the ground and charged the wolf so fast that no one could see him. The wolf caught Gaikoz's sword between it's teeth.

As the wolf and Gaikoz exchanged blows, Elesis, Lire, and Arme had retreated to the place where Ronan was hiding.

"Where the hell did that wolf come from?" Ronan asked, watching the fight closely.

"What I want to know is why a monster would show up to fight Gaikoz." Arme replied as she began using her magic to heal Ronan's wounds.

"I've seen a lot of wolves before but I've never seen one who could stand on it's hind legs like that," Lire commented.

Ronan turned to Elesis, "You're being awfully quiet do you know something about that thing."

Elesis looked at the wolf then back at her friends then at the wolf again. "You're not gonna believe me but... that wolf is Ryan."

The group looked at Elesis disbelievingly. "Did you hit your head or something?" Ronan asked her.

"NO! That wolf is Ryan, he did the same thing in the forest to save me from the troll."

"So he can control that transformation?" Lire asked, "I've never met of an elf who had such an ability before."

"As far as I know, he has no control over when it happens and he loses control of himself when it does. as long as he's in that form he'll try to rip apart anyone who comes near him. I heard his story and I think he was cursed by Kaze'aze."

"Kaze'aze!" Ronan exclaimed.

Elesis nodded. "She cursed him with that form and made him do terrible things but, I promised I wouldn't mention them."

Ronan nodded, "Of course, we understand. Still I can't believe that that's Ryan and he's beating Gaikoz one-on-one."

Gaikoz Raised his sword and launched a wind slash at Ryan who destroyed it with his fangs before lunging himself at Gaikoz. Gaikoz tried to block with his sword but Ryan knocked the sword away and sunk his teeth into a small gap between Gaikoz's armor. Gaikoz didn't flinch.

"Foolish beast." Gaikoz grabbed Ryan's head and threw him across the room. He bent down and picked his sword back up. Ryan stood up and faced Gaikoz again. They stood still staring each other down for several seconds before they lunged at each other. Gaikoz's sword clashed with Ryan's claws as they continued exchanging blows. Ryan threw his claw at Gaikoz's mask but Gaikoz knocked Ryan's claw away with his sword throwing Ryan of balance. Gaikoz readied his sword and swung at Ryan's neck. Gaikoz sword hit Ryan on the side of the neck but stopped almost immediately after touching him. Gaikoz pulled his sword out and smashed it over top Ryan's head. Again the sword stopped quickly doing almost no damage. Gaikoz pulled his sword out and kept hitting Ryan over and over again in different places around his body.

"Bleed, Bleed... WHY WON'T YOU BLEED!" Ryan looked up, his yellows eyes staring deep into Gaikoz's mask. Gaikoz staggered backwards. "Get away from me you... you monster!" Gaikoz screamed clearly frightened. "I don't want to die, not again please, please let me live, I'm begging you!"

"He's really scared of death even though he's already a ghost." Lire observed.

"I don't care how scared he is, for the sake of Kanavan He's going to leave this world." Ronan replied. The group watched as Ryan moved closer and closer to Gaikoz. Gaikoz backed away until his back was to the wall. Ryan stepped forward and raised his claw when suddenly his eyes dimmed. His claw started shaking and he started to breathe heavily.

"Dammit! And at the worst possible time to." Elesis exclaimed.

"What's wrong?"

Ryan's changing back, we have to get out there, he doesn't stand a chance!"

Ryan smashed his head into the wall next to Gaikoz and began flailing around, moving closer and closer to the centre of the room until finally he reared back his head, howled and reverted back to his normal Elven form.

Gaikoz began to laugh hysterically. "Yes yes I get to live! I win! I win!" Gaikoz held out his hand and his sword appeared in it. he moved quickly towards the collapsed Ryan and raised his sword. Before Gaikoz could swing his sword Elesis and Ronan were standing in front of Ryan with their swords ready. Lire quickly dashed behind them, picking up Ryan and returning to where Arme was hiding. As Elesis and Ronan prepared to battle Gaikoz again, Arme began restoring Ryan's energy. Lire held Ryan firmly in her arms to prevent him from flailing as Arme let the healing spell slowly enter Ryan's body.

Lire held Ryan in her arms in case they needed to make a quick escape. Ryan's eyes slowly opened. He looked at Lire with a dazed look on his face and muttered "Ceria?" before passing out again. Lire looked at him confused but shook it off and returned her attention to the battle.

"I see your wounds are gone" Gaikoz taunted Ronan.

"Gaikoz, I won't let you hurt the people of Kanavan any longer."

"So you think you can defeat me. I'll grant you that my power have been reduced by that friend of yours but you still can't hope to defeat me."

"I'll send you back to hell where you belong!"

"You lack a killing instinct, Ronan. Unlike Me, I would be able to easily kill anyone, even my own flesh and blood, if I found it neccesary."

"Twisted bastard!"

"You'll never survive in Kaze'aze's world if you cannot become like me."

"Just Shut Up and go back to hell!" Ronan held his sword in front of him and charged Gaikoz. Gaikoz effortlessly blocked the attack and threw Ronan against the wall. Gaikoz turned his attention towards Elesis who set her sword in a defensive position. Gaikoz disappeared and reappeared behind Elesis. Elesis spun, swinging her sword but Gaikoz blocked it with his shield and lifted Elesis into the air by her neck.

"Surrender, knight of Kanavan, or your sister will die."

_"How does he know that Elesis is like my sister?" _Ronan asked himself before throwing his sword toward the center of the room. Gaikoz dropped Elesis, who had already passed out, and he reappeared in front of Ronan.

"You have lost, knight of Kanavan."

"May I ask one question before I die?"

"What is it?"

"How did you know my relationship with Elesis?"

"I know everything about you, Ronan."

"Why would you go to the trouble of learning about me specifically?"

"I have my reasons but they will not matter to a dead man."

"True enough." Gaikoz raised his sword above his head and began to swing down.

"Thunder blade!" A bolt of lightning came rushing across the room from behind Elesis, hitting Gaikoz's sword and sending electricity through his armor. Everyone turned towards the doorway to see General Grant standing with his sword drawn. Grant snapped his fingers and three young soldiers came rushing in, grabbed Elesis and Ryan and left.

Ronan turned to Lire an Arme, "You two go with Elesis and Ryan. Don't worry about me, the General's here." Lire and Arme nodded and followed the soldiers out.

Gaikoz stood back up and grabbed his sword. "Enhance gravity!" Gaikoz was immediately forced back to the ground. Grant approached the two warriors. "You're a fool Gaikoz, it's time for you to return to hell where you belong."

"No! No! I won't leave this world!"

"Do you have any idea what you've done? You killed almost every soldier that came with us. Those soldiers had family and friends. Do you have any idea the pain you've caused so many people?"

Gaikoz began laughing hysterically, "Of course I know their pain. Everything I've done has been so people could know my pain!"

"You really are a twisted bastard." Ronan looked away from him.

"Me? a twisted bastard?" Gaikoz began laughing hysterically again, "Indeed I am a twisted bastard. And you Ronan must be so proud to have bee..."

"Stop Gaikoz! That's enough, he doesn't need to know!"

"Doesn't need to know what, exactly?"

"You know exactly what."

"So you don't want him to know the fact that..." Grant began frantically charging his energy for a spell, "Ronan Erudon is descended from such a monster. Such a twisted bastard!" Gaikoz began laughing hysterically again.

"Damn you to hell, Gaikoz! Incineration!" a pillar of flames enveloped Gaikoz and his armor turned to ash. As soon as all the ash had settled it began to swirl in the air and changed form into seven small slips of paper which came to rest on the ground.

Ronan walked forward and picked up one of the slips of paper which had an illustration of Gaikoz's mask on it.

"What are these, Uncle Raq?"

"I don't know but you should leave them. I'd rather not have anything in Gaikoz's image around me."

Ronan nodded and left the papers on the ground. "Was what Gaikoz said true? About him being my ancestor?"

"Your father and I removed any records of Gaikoz before you were born. We never wanted you to know, but remember that your ancestor's have nothing to do with who you are and what you believe, understand." Ronan nodded. "Good then let's head back to the castle and get your friends some medical attention." Ronan nodded again and solemnly walked out of Gaikoz's castle.

* * *

Back at Kanavan's palace, everyone was busy with something whether it was preparing for the announcement that Gaikoz had been defeated or preparing messages for the families of the lost soldiers. The group of young warriors along with Ronan and General Grant were waiting in a medical room. Elesis has already woken up after her treatment and Ryan, although his breathing had stabilized, was still unconscious.

"I see so General Grant fully and completely destroyed Gaikoz?" Lire asked.

Ronan nodded, "I saw his armor turn to ash with my own eyes. Not only that but now that Gaikoz has been destroyed we've gotten word that the monsters holding the port town to the north under siege have begun to disappear."

"That's great!" Arme exclaimed, "We'll be able to get to Ellinia now."

"Yes, I wish you luck in your quest."

Arme's expression immediately dropped. "Aren't you coming with us Ronan?"

"My place is here in Kanavan, I'm no chosen hero."

"Don't be so sure about that." Everyone's heads spun to the door where Knightmaster Aurora stood.

"Knightmaster Aurora, it has been to long." Grant greeted her. "May I ask what brings you here today."

"I came to drop off something that you forgot." She answered as she pulled out the seven slips of paper. "I'm sure you've all heard the story about Gaikoz's rampage and the seven warriors who lost their lives in order to stop him." Everyone nodded. "When Gaikoz was reincarnated into that armor the spirits of the seven warriors were reincarnated with him. Kaze'aze did not want them to ruin her plans so she sealed them within these slips of paper and Gaikoz placed his seal on them afterwards. These are the Gaikoz seals, they hold the spirit of the legendary warriors and I'm sure that if you can prove yourself they will lend you their weapons and abilities.

Everyone looked back at the seals and saw that the illustrations on them glowed in different colors. "Knightmaster Aurora, why are the seals glowing."

"The souls are indicating to us that the warriors they wish to aid are near. As you can see five of the seals are glowing which means that of the seven people in this room right now, five of us are chosen heroes."

"So then these two that aren't glowing are for the heroes who aren't here right now?"

Aurora nodded. "Yes those must be for the other two. For now try touching them, if you are the one chosen by that hero then it is certain to glow brighter." Elesis reached forward and touched a slip of paper which was glowing red. It immediately flared up and glowed brighter. "Elesis you were chosen by Abastoth the lancer. But remember that just because you were chosen doesn't mean you were accepted. You must prove yourself worthy to him before he will lend you his power." Lire and Arme both tested the seals until they found seals that glowed for them. "Lire you have been chosen by Ydrai the crossbowman and you, Arme, have been accepted by the alchemist, Karina.

"Great now move over so I can test them." Everyone turned around to see Ryan jumping out of bed. "Ah, I feel much better now. Now let's see which of these seals is mine." Ryan tested the seals until he found one which glowed for him. "Whoa, I actually am one of you guys."

"Indeed Ryan, you have been chosen by the elven sentinel, Celeion."

Grant hit Ronan in the back of the head. "Ronan go and test the seals."

"I'm no hero, there's no way that I was chosen."

"Do it!" Ronan reluctantly stepped forward and tested the seals. He found a seal which shone with an indigo light.

"Congratulations Ronan, You have been chosen by the most powerful of the seven warriors, Ryu the Dragon Knight."

"I'm one of them? I'm supposed to fight Kaze'aze!"

"You'll do it, of course."

"Yes sir, General Grant sir!"

"Excellent."

Aurora collected the last two seals and handed them to Ronan. "Keep these with you at all times and when they glow make sure that everyone around you tests them."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good. now General Grant there is an issue I wish to speak to you about, would it be possible for us to step outside?"

"Of course lady Aurora." Grant and Aurora left the room.

"Amazing, I never actually expected to be a chosen warrior with you guys." Ryan commented looking admiringly at his seal.

"I don't think I deserve it." Ronan added.

"B-but you were chosen by the leader of the seven legends if anything you're the most worthy of us." Arme said trying to cheer Ronan up.

"Thanks."

As the warriors discussed the battle and what they would be needing on the next continent a soldier rushed into the room.

"Lord Ronan! a suspicious boy was seen approaching your mansion."

"What did this guy look like." Ryan asked immediately.

"The only information I recieved was that there was a suspicious boy that no one in Kanavan had ever seen."

"Has to be Kaze'aze!" Ryan exclaimed, "Let's go!"

* * *

When the warriors arrived at the mansion, Knightmaster Aurora and General Grant were already there.

"What's happening!" Ronan asked upon arriving.

"It's Kaze'aze," Aurora told them, "She's been slowly moving towards your house but we have no idea what she could possibly want.

As Ronan spoke with Aurora Thomas stepped out of the mansion. "This is the property of the Erudon family and I must ask trespassers to leave."

"You think you can make me leave do you?"

"No matter how strong you are I will stop you. I have devoted my life to master Ronan and I will not allow this place to be desecrated by the likes of you."

"Interesting."

"Thomas stop, she's to powerful." Elesis screamed.

Ronan placed his arm in front of Elesis, "Thomas is the strongest man I have ever seen, if anyone can fight Kaze'aze then it's him."

"I concur," Added Grant, "Thomas is far stronger than even I."

Elesis looked back to see that Thomas had removed his butler's jacket and pants revealing a tight, form-fitting outfit underneath. "Perfect, he'll be able to move masterfully with that on."

Kaze'aze drew her daggers as Thomas took out some leather gloves and put them on. They charged each other clashing together. Kaze'aze jumped back and unleashed a wave of light blue energy from her daggers. Thomas sidestepped the wave and threw a ball of red energy at Kaze'aze who slashed it, destroying it.

"You are stronger than I had anticipated," Kaze'aze admitted.

"I was just thinking the same thing."

Kaze'aze charged her energy into the young boy creating a large ring of energy around him. Thomas began charging his own energy until it erupted and flames appeared on his body.

"Let us see if you can withstand the power of the silver knights burning arts." Thomas charged Kaze'aze again this time moving much faster than before. Kaze'aze blocked Thomas' first punch but he immediately appeared in the air behind her, spinning and driving her into the ground with his leg. Kaze'aze forced the boy back to his feet and took another fighting stance. "So you can still stand after that, quite admirable. Now let us see if you can withstand my Burning flower technique. Thomas charged landing a punch so strong that Kaze'aze flew backwards. Thomas immediately placed his hands on the ground causing fire to erupt from the ground throwing Kaze'aze in the air. Thomas appeared above her and drove her back down with a powerful punch. Kaze'aze easily forced the boy back to his feet and noticed that the flames enveloping Thomas' body were dissapearing.

"I see that your burning arts have a time limit to them. To bad for you that I do not need to worry about this bodies wounds, if he becomes to weak to fight then I can just find another."

"I will defeat you for the sake of master Ronan." Thomas began charging his energy again but this time he continued charging even after the power had erupted.

Ronan's eyes widened, "Thomas Don't!"

"Prepare yourself for the ultimate capability of the silver knights." Thomas continued charging energy and it began to form around him. "Infinite Burn!" The energy around him erupted completely enveloping his body in flames.

"What the hell is that?" Ryan asked amazed.

"Inifinite burn, the silver knights ultimate technique." Ronan answered, "It allows him to call on powers a hundred fold stronger than what you saw earlier. The problem with it is that it eats your life."

"Eats your life?"

"A better way to put it is that it accelerates your life. You see, Thomas was forced to use it so much in the silver land wars twelve years ago that he has become an old man but the truth is that he is only twenty-eight years old."

"What, no way!"

Ronan nodded, "If it takes him to long to defeat Kaze'aze then he might not make it."

Thomas disappeared and reappeared behind Kaze'aze. He grabbed her and threw her into the air immediately following and driving her towards the ground. Before she could land he appeared next to her and flung her away from the mansion. HE began charging mass amounts of energy into his hands creating a giant ball of burning energy.

"Let us see if you can handle this. Ultimate fist of infinite hell!" he yelled as he threw the ball of energy after Kaze'aze which caught up to her immediately, enveloping her.

The flames around Thomas' body flickered out very quickly. Everyone ran and surrounded Thomas who had fallen to the ground.

"Thomas! Thomas wake up!"

"M-Mas-ter Ron-an, are you sa-fe." Thomas forced out.

"I'm fine Thomas just please don't die on me."

"My o-nly regr-et is th-at I had on-ly one li-fe to ser-ve you." With his final words Thomas' eyes closed never to open again. Ronan broke down crying uncontrollably over Thomas' lifeless body.

"How sickeningly sweet." A mocking voice came from behind, "I have only one life to serve you with."

Everyone turned around to see Kaze'aze standing there severaly injured.

"Impossible! how do you still live?" Grant screamed.

"I am protected by a special blessing, I can not die unless defeated by the chosen heroes. I had no idea that they had been found and were planning against me already. I don't have the energy to deal with those precious heroes of yours right now but I will destroy them. This body may have lost but it bonds quite well to my control I shall keep it for now."

"NO! Get out of me!" Kaze'aze grabbed her head and started flailing around.

"You are under my control boy!"

"NO! Get out!"

A small area under Ronan's tunic began to glow with a greyish-blue light. Ronan reached in and pulled out one of the remaining seals. It was glowing faintly.

"Enough of this boy! We're returning."

"NO! NO!" With that Kaze'aze disappeared and the moment the boy's body was gone the seal lost it's glow.

_" No way, unbelievable."_ Ronan thought.

Everyone returned their attention to Thomas's body. "He was a good man, I will ensure that he receives a heroes burial for what he did." Grant promised. "But Ronan..."

"I know General. I have to leave with the others as soon as possible and I can't be around for his funeral."

"I'm sorry Ronan."

"It's alright." Ronan returned to his mansion and immediately went to bed.

That night none of the chosen slept well. They were all thinking of the same thing. They were thinking of the journey to defeat Kaze'aze and dreading the death which they knew would surround them every step of the way.

* * *

And that's the chapter for now. I promise I will continue updating this story but if I'm taking to long feel free to send me a PM and remind me because I am quite absent-minded and nothing is as good a reminder as opening up my e-mail and seeing "Write the story!"

As always review.


	11. To Ellia

I'm back with a nice short chapter that'll get them to Ellia.

Enjoy

* * *

The sun beat down on Kanavan, Forcing it's way through Ronan's window and shining over his face. Ronan's eyes slowly flickered open. He looked around the room and his eyes rested on a portrait hanging on the wall which depicted a young Ronan and infant Elesis standing with their parents, Grant and Thomas. He stared at the painting for awhile before he finally took it off the wall. He left his room and headed towards the dining room where the rest of his "team" was eating breakfast. Ronan sat down and the maids quickly placed some food in front of him. He stared at the plate for a short while before he got up and walked out of the room. Lire jumped up and followed him.

"Ronan!"

"What is it?" He asked darkly.

Lire stopped for a moment, trying to compose her thoughts. "I know that you're mad about what happened to Thomas but sulking like this isn't going to help you."

"You speak as if you actually understand how I feel."

"Ronan..."

"Just leave me the hell alone and don't try to talk about stuff that you couldn't possibly understand."

"More than half my clan including my entire family was killed before my eyes!" Lire screamed angrily, "Don't tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about!"

Ronan turned to Lire looking ashamed and alarmed. "Lire... I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"I've already gotten my revenge and I feel a lot better because of it. But Ronan... sulking and running from everyone won't do you any good and it wouldn't make Thomas happy."

"Then what should I do."

"Fight Kaze'aze and get his revenge as well as the revenge for anyone else who she killed."

"Do you earnestly believe that we can defeat Kaze'aze? Didn't you see how perilously close we came to dieing back in Gaikoz's castle?"

"Of course but that's why we have to become stronger. The only reason I learned how to use a bow was so I could get revenge on the orcs who attacked the elves. Thanks to that wish I can help to fight Kaze'aze and save so many more people. You're smart Ronan, I know that the moment you accepted that seal and joined us that you knew we'd be surrounded by death. We have to keep moving so that as few people die as possible. Think about it Ronan, you know I'm right."

"Of course I know you're right. but I never expected that of all people Thomas would be a victim of her."

"Ronan he died so that you could live and save others! He knew that you would be a part of our group! I know he knew, and he wanted you to be able to save more lives. He sacrificed his life for you and so many other people and you're just letting it all go to waste! I'm not saying you shouldn't be sad that he's gone but you have to pick yourself up and keep going for his sake! We'll have plenty of time to mourn afterwards, after we've killed Kaze'aze and everyone's safe."

Ronan and Lire stood across from each other, glaring as if it made a difference. Ronan's head finally dropped in defeat. Lire walked up and wrapped her arms around Ronan and patted his head which was now resting on her shoulder. Lire started to hum a simple, soothing tune into Ronan's ear. Ronan lifted his head and stepped back.

"Thanks Lire, I needed that."

"And I need you." Ronan looked confused, "Elesis and Arme were hard enough to handle on their own but Ryan isn't the most level-headed guy around either, it'll be nice to have someone else their to help keep them in check."

Ronan started chuckling to himself and rested his arm on Lire's shoulders. He extended his free hand to her, "Partner?"

Lire grabbed his hand, "Partners." And so the two partners headed back to the dining room to eat breakfast.

* * *

Later that day General Grant and Knightmaster Aurora came to inform the group that their ship was ready.

"We have already stocked the ship with supplies for your journey," Knightmaster Aurora explained, "And General Grant will also be accompanying you."

"What about Kanavan?" Ronan asked worried.

"The Knightmaster and her knights will be defending Kanavan while we are gone. I believe that it is important that you kids have someone who has been to Ellia before to guide you."

"I agree but can't someone else come? Please General Kanavan needs you."

"That is enough Ronan, I will be accompanying you and that is final."

"As you wish sir."

After their meeting the five warriors, along with General Grant headed to the port town located north of Kanavan. Upon arrival they were welcomed by many sailors who seemed very happy to be able to get back out to sea again. They went to their ship and met with a man who wore an expensive looking scarlet coat.

"Welcome young warriors, I am Emil, captain of the Viridian. So I hear you guys want to head to Ellia?"

Grant stepped forward, "That's correct, Emil."

"Raq? Good to see you again my friend."

"You as well Emil. You realize that Kaze'aze has all but taken over Ellia? it will be dangerous."

"Danger is my middle name Raq, you know that. Besides the sea is my domain, I'd like to see Kaze'aze try to take down my precious Viridian."

"Are we ready to set sail yet?"

"As soon as the rowers wake up we're off."

"Rowers?" Ronan asked.

"Well if the wind decides to die on us then we'll be target practice for Kaze'aze we gotta be able to keep moving."

"Don't worry about that, Emil. I need this ship moving as fast as possible so I brought some mages with us, they'll power the sails."

"Mages? Raq, you crazy bastard, I couldn't count on anyone else to come up with something so crazy."

"They'll be here shortly so why don't you go and get your boys on board."

"Sure thing. Why don't you kids go and make yourselves comfortable on my Viridian, we'll set off as soon as everyone's on board." As Captain Emil ran off to pick up his crew the group went on to check out the Viridian.

"General Grant, How do you know Captain Emil?" Lire asked curiously.

"Back when I was just an average soldier in the army, we were fighting a battle on Ellia. Emil was just a normal man from the village who got caught in the crossfire and I was seriously injured defending him. He brought me back to his home and treated my wounds. He and I became fast friends and he told me about his dream to get his own ship and sail all over the world. Imagine how surprised I was when the first ship which was chartered for me after I became General was the Viridian. He rents out the Viridian as a Ferry when he needs money and then he goes back out to sea, his current goal is to find the lost continent known as Silver Land."

"He's got big dreams, I admire that." Ronan commented.

"Honestly I was amazed that General Grant has such a close friend," Lire replied, "I've never heard Anyone call him by his first name, not even you Ronan."

Grant graoned, "I keep telling him to stop that." All the warriors laughed and eventually Grant joined in to. After they had all gotten settled into the cabin everyone went to explore the ship.

After a short time the captain called down to them, "Get up here ya landlubbers, We're setting sail!"

Arme, Elesis and Ryan raced up on deck where Lire and Ronan were already waiting. The warriors watched as the boat set out from port into the vast blue ocean. As soon as they were out of port Ryan rushed to the side of the boat looking at the amazing view of the ocean. The others walked up behind him.

"Never seen the ocean before?" Arme asked.

Ryan shook his head, "I lived in the forest for my entire life, I heard stories about the ocean but I never thought it would be this beautiful."

"True," Lire agreed, "It's always so beautiful no matter how many times you see it." As the others all discussed the ocean Ronan noticed that General Grant had gone belowdeck. Ronan followed him. He found the General in the lowermost chambers of the ship.

"What are you doing?" Ronan asked.

"Making sure the ship is secure, it wouldn't do if some of Kaze'aze's marine minions sunk the Viridian on the way to Ellia."

"Yeah you're right." Ronan agreed, "Would you like any help?"

"Don't worry about it Ronan, just go back up on the deck and enjoy the trip."

"But Uncle Raq-"

"Go enjoy the trip Ronan. You won't have much to look forward to after it's over."

Ronan decided to leave Grant to his work and head back up on deck. When he reached the deck he found the girls comforting Ryan who had his head leaning over the Viridian's railing.

"Seasick?" Ronan asked.

"Seasick." Lire responded, "Didn't take long either."

"I don't care how beautiful the ocean is. I HATE IT!" Ryan screamed before throwing his head over the railing again.

"Where'd the General go?" Arme asked, leaving Ryan to Lire and Elesis.

"He's below deck making sure no monsters sink the ship on us."

"It would be pretty bad if the did." Arme agreed. Suddenly the boat shook violently and a huge crack could be heard from belowdeck. "What happened!"

Emil charged out from the captain's quarters, "Boy's check belowdeck now!" The sailors all rushed belowdeck to see what had happened and they returned very quickly with Grant close behind them.

"We're taking on water captain, the Viridian's going to sink!"

"Every crew member below deck! Get the hole fixed quickly!" Almost all of the sailors rushed belowdeck to see what could be done about the hole. Emil ran up to Grant.

"Raq what happened down there!"

"I was trying to keep an eye on things when suddenly a giant stone point created an enormous hole in the hull."

"Cap'n!" the lookout yelled down from the crow's nest, "There's a giant shadow on the water to starboard!"

Emil rushed to the right of the boat and looked down at the water to see an enormous shadow which was getting bigger. "It's surfacing! Everybody hit the deck!" Everyone dropped flat on the deck and covered the back of their heads with their hands. A giant, living statue, holding a trident, rose from the water sending a huge wave which rocked teh boat violently and throwing the mages and lookout overboard.

"Partusay!" Emil yelled.

"Partusay? lord of the sea?" Grant yelled back, "Even the master of the ocean has fallen to Kaze'aze's influence?"

Partusay lifted his trident, calling up enormous waves which violently rocked the boat.

"Dammit!" Grant yelled as he drew his sword.

"Grant what do you think you're doing?" Emil yelled at him.

"The Viridian's done for and it's likely that we're all going down to! I'm at least taking this bastard with me!" Grant jumped from the Viridian, landing on Partusay's arm. He ran up the arm making his way to the head.

"Grant stop you're gonna kill yourself!" Emil yelled at him.

Grant lifted his sword and pointed the blade down at Partusay's forhead while Partusay raised his trident. Grant flung his sword down penetrating Partusay's forward and causing energy to fly out. Before he was destroyed Partusay lifted his trident high above his head calling a typhoon on the Viridian, destroying it in seconds and sending all the warriors and captain Emil flying. Shortly afterward Partusay exploded with Grant still standing on his head. As Partusay slowly dissapeared seas in the area calmed and the wreckage of the Viridian, as well as the corpses of the Viridian's crew, could be clearly seen floating on the water.

* * *

The tide rose and dropped on the beach of the Ellia continent leaving three people behind as it dropped. The cool water from the tide splashed her face and Elesis' eyes slowly opened. She pushed herself up and looked around drearily. She noticed that their were two others washed up just a little bit down the beach. She ran down to them and started shaking them.

"Arme! Ryan! Wake up!" Ryan started to stir and sat up.

"Elesis? Where are we?"

"I don't know Ryan. All I remember is the boat being destroyed and everyone went flying."

"Ugh, I am never sailing again."

"Now's not the time Ryan, first we need to figure out where we are."

"We're on Ellia." Elesis and Ryan looked to see that Arme had woken up. "this is a beach on Ellia. the Violet Mage Guild used to be located just a little down the road from here, I used to come here a lot."

"You've been to Ellia before?"

"I used to live here but I never went past Orinig, the town that's a couple hours down the road. After we reach Orinig then I'm as clueless as you guys."

"Where are Ronan and Lire?" Ryan asked concerned.

"And what about Captain Emil and General Grant?" Arme added.

"I don't know I only just woke up as well." Elesis told them.

"The first thing we need to do is get to Orinig and pick up some supplies and new weapons." When Arme said this Ryan and Elesis realized that their weapons were gone.

"Great." Elesis said wearily. "What do we do if we get attacked on our way to town."

"We run," Arme decided.

"Ok, so our plan is to get to Orinig and pick up some weapons and supplies and afterwards we have to look for Ronan and Lire while trying to avoid any run-ins with kaze'aze and her minions." Ryan repeated back to them, "It's a pretty cut and paste plan but it'll have to do."

"Orinig is this way." Arme said pointing down the western road, "Let's go."

* * *

Well it may not have been the most ideal trip but they made it to Ellia (Three of them did, at least).

As always please review and have a nice day.


	12. A familiar face

I'm back with another chapter. Sorry this took longer than I had anticipated but I had 3 tests one after another.

* * *

Elesis, Ryan and Arme, amazingly, made it to Orinig without any conflict.

"Ok we're here," Elesis said stating the obvious, "Is their a blacksmith in this town somewhere?"

"Why does it matter?" Arme asked, "Ronan and Lire wouldn't let any of us carry the money, remember?"

"Oh god dammit, you're right!" Elesis yelled.

Ryan smacked Elesis in the back of the head, "Cool it, people won't talk to us if they see you freaking out like that."

"First things first, we should go to the inn," Arme decided, "The owner is a pretty nice guy so we can probably make a tab." Ryan and Elesis agreed and they went to the Inn. They were greeted by a kind old gentleman upon arriving. He rented them a room and started a tab for them. The group went up to their room and collapsed on the beds.

"What's the plan from here?" Ryan asked sleepily.

"First and Foremost we need to get ourselves some weapons," Elesis claimed.

"I agree with Elesis but to get weapons we'll need money. We'll have to see if we can get any work in town and at the same time try to listen for rumors about people who look like Ronan or Lire. If you hear about anyone around here's who knows how to fight then make a note of it, they may be another warrior. Unfortunately Ronan has the extra seals.

Ryan reached into his shirt and pulled out his seal. He stared at it from al angles and suddenly realized something. "Hey, how come the seals as dry as a bone?"

Elesis and Arme both pulled out their seals which were as dry and in as perfect condition as Ryan's. "Well they are possessed by ancient warriors, that may have something to do with it," Elesis offered.

"No they're just normal pieces of paper with souls in them, they shouldn't be protected like that."

"I don't really care how they're safe I just know that they are." Ryan finally decided. Elesis agreed.

"Fine, it's not really what we should be worried about right now anyways." Arme stood up and grabbed Elesis' arm. "C'mon Elesis I know a place where we can make some money and it's always crawling with the latest news to. You have to find your own job Ryan, just make sure that you'll have the ability to talk to people and collect information." Arme and Elesis left the room leaving Ryan alone. Ryan fell back on his bed.

"Let's see what kind of work would be good?" He questioned himself. Suddenly he realized that he knew nothing about human jobs. "Well, damn. Guess I'll take a nap until they get back." he said to himself as he lied down.

* * *

Arme was dragging Elesis through town. They passed several places that Elesis thought Arme may have been talking about but they passed by all of them.

"Arme where are we going?" Elesis asked breaking out of Arme's grip.

Arme turned and pointed at the building directly behind her, "Right here."

Elesis looked up at the building Arme was pointing at. It was a large, old building with a big sign above the front door that had a very simple name on it, Orinig Pub. Elesis looked at Arme alarmed. "You want us to work here?"

"Yup, I know the owner well and I'm sure he'll let us. C'mon we're going around back." Arme started walking around the back of the pub and Elesis reluctantly followed. Arme knocked on the back door and a large, maen looking man opened the door.

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

"Tell Mr. Lirios that Arme wants to see him." Arme ordered.

The man squinted his eyes like he was angry and headed back into the pub. "So is Mr. Lirios the owner?"

"Yup, he's an old friend of Master Urashin." The door opened again and out came another large, gruff looking man. He looked over Arme and Elesis and cracked his knuckles. Elesis took a few steps back, frightened. After a few seconds he threw his arms open.

"Arme come here!" he shouted happily. Arme ran up and jump right into his big bear hug. "I haven't see you in ages. Last I heard you went to join the Grand Chase."

"Y-yeah." she stuttered out.

"Oh sorry Arme, you know me always forgetting my own strength." He said as he released her from his hug.

"That's ok, Mr. Lirios."

"So who's your friend."

"Oh this is Elesis, she's in the Grand Chase to."

Mr. Lirios extended his big hand to Elesis. "Nice ta meetcha." He greeted her happily. Elesis slowly reached forward and shook his hand. "Something wrong?"

"No offence but you just make me kinda nervous."

Mr. Lirios chuckled, "None taken, I get that a lot. So Arme, why're ya here."

Arme explained what had happened since she joined the Grand Chase, leaving out the part about being the chosen. "So, the point is that we need money and I was hoping we could work here as waitresses for a little while."

Mr. Lirios laughed, "Of course Arme, having cute waitresses always brings in customers and with you working here I may run out of ale." Arme blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "To tell the truth I've been a bit understaffed lately due to Kaze'aze's minion's constant attacks."

"Attacks!" Elesis excalaimed, "what's happening."

"For a little while now, a hooded man, bigger than me, riding an enormous Purple monster and wielding a giant Bastard sword in one hand has been coming to the town periodically. He never does much, just tells us to obey Kaze'aze and then he destroys some stuff just outside the town but it sure scares people. Almost all of my workers went running trying to find a way to Bermesiah but all my customers are the types who know they won't be getting anywhere by running so they come and drink their troubles away. I'm glad you two showed up, I was so desperate that I hired another girl just a little while back. She's ditzy and a bit of a klutz so having more help will be great."

"No problem, but Mr. Lirios do you think we could have an advance so that we can get some weapons for Elesis and Ryan, our other friend."

"Hm I don't see why not. Why don't you girls go and get Ryan, I'll treat you to dinner and then we'll go and get you some great weapons. I gotta get back to my customers so I'll see you girls later."

"Wait Mr. Lirios, Did master Urashin leave any wands or gems with you?"

"I haven't seen Urashin in ages so I'm not sure, I'll check through my storage and let you know if I find anything."

"Thank you." With that Mr. Lirios went back into the pub.

While the girls walked back to the inn, Elesis started asking questions. "So Mr. Lirios is an old friend of your masters?"

"Yes."

"He's a pretty nice man, huh?"

"Always was."

"He really seems to like you."

"He was a big part of my life while I was growing up. He's like a father, really."

"Wow, having a dad like him would be great! My father was always really cool to, though. Hey Arme why did you ask about wands and gems?"

"You sure like to jump around with your questions, don't you? A mages wand isn't as simple to make as a sword or axe. You have to find a catalyst first and then you have to smith a wand that properly fits that catalyst. It takes a ridiculous amount of energy to use magic without a catalyst of some sort. The magic used by the violet mage guild requires a gemstone to channel the energy into a tangible form and it can't just be any gemstone either, it has to be of a high purity." Elesis looked completely dumbfounded. Arme shot a know-it-all glance at Elesis, "Which words didn't you understand?"

"Catalyst and tangible." Elesis responded.

Arme stared at Elesis with narrowed eyes, "You're really lucky that you're good with a sword, you know that?"

While Elesis contemplated whether that was a compliment or an insult, Arme asked her own question, "What do you think about the hooded man who's been attacking?"

"He's just another one of Kaze'aze's minions, isn't he? We'll just beat him down like the others."

"Elesis don't you understand anything? We're in Kaze'aze's territory now, anything that we faced before won't even be worthy to shine the boots of what Kaze'aze has waiting here. We only beat Gaikoz because of Grant and now, not only is he gone, but whatever we face here is going to be stronger than Gaikoz. Do you honestly expect to be able to win, just like that?"

"I never thought about that but... no matter what happens I won't let anyone I care about die, ever."

"I thought that you fought just because you didn't want to lose." Arme commented bluntly.

"That was a while ago," Elesis replied, suddenly sounding very serious. "Before when it was just me, you and Lire, all I wanted was to win and when I found out that I was supposed to beat Kaze'aze I didn't want anyone else involved. I didn't want them involved because I wanted to be the one winner but when I fought in the Elven Forest I realized just how powerless I was when I was alone. When I fight so I can protect the people I care about, the people who are always standing with me, I become so much stronger. Arme I promise that no matter how strong the enemy is, I'll find a way to protect everyone. I'll protect you to, whether you want me to or not."

By this time the girls were back at the inn. Arme looked up at Elesis with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry Elesis, I usually try not to be so analytical but after everything that happened I just-"

"Arme don't cry!" Elesis yelled at her while she wiped her eyes, "No more crying, I like it when everyone's happy. I know everyone can't be happy all the time but this serious attitude your trying to take on just doesn't suit you. Being like that is Ronan's job not yours so just go back to being the annoying kid who gets jealous every time that stupid god-brother of mine talks to another girl."

"And you go back to being the tempermental diva that freaks out about everything."

Arme and Elesis clasped their hands together smiling, "Deal!" They said in unison.

"So what should I go back to being!" Ryan yelled, with a big grin plastered on his face, while hanging out of their room's window.

"You go back to being the gluttunous, ocean hating elf we all love!" Arme yelled back at him.

Ryan's smile dropped, "Not sure if I deserve that." He said solemnly.

Elesis stepped forward, "Ryan forget about what happened then, that was Kaze'aze not you, so honor Ceria's and Gin's and everyone elses memory by taking her down." Arme looked at Elesis confused, "Don't ask."

"I'll try to stay happy, Elesis but I can't promise I'll be like this all the time." He said as he stood up straight and started climbing higher.

Arme looked annoyed, "Ryan don't climb on the roof!" She yelled. Elesis cleared her throat. Arme turned to see Elesis glaring at her. Arme took a deep breath, "Ok Ryan I'm coming up to!" Arme yelled as she ran into the inn. Elesis put on a beaming smile, _"Everything's back to normal."_ she thought. "Oh yeah, we were supposed to get Ryan so that we could go and get dinner with Mr. Lirios!" Elesis yelled up.

"Dinner!" Ryan yelled as he jumped from the roof landing on his feet. "C'mon Arme hurry up!" He yelled up to her.

"I'm gonna go the long way around!" Arme said as she climbed back through the window.

While they waited, Ryan clasped his hands together. "O mighty lords of nature I thank you for guiding us to the shore and I pray that the souls of the animals we shall soon eat will find peace."

"Did you do that every time we ate in Kanavan?"

"Yes, of course. I could never forget the sacrifice of the animals that sustain me."

"And you really believe that your lords of nature brought us to shore?"

"I do."

"Then why aren't Lire and Ronan with us?" Arme asked, just arriving to the conversation.

"They may have been needed elsewhere. I'm sure the lords of nature will bring us all together again."

"Whatever you say Ryan, now do you want to eat or not!" Elesis, who, along with Arme, had already begun walking to the pub, yelled back at him.

"Hey wait up!" Ryan yelled as he ran after them. After a short walk they arrived at the pub. Arme knocked on the door and Mr. Lirios answered.

"Arme!" He said opening his arms up wide.

Arme waved her hands in front of her, "No no, you already hugged me today and it hurt." Arme turned and grabbed Elesis, pushing her up front, "Here hug Elesis." Mr. Lirios wrapped his big arms around Elesis and lifted her off the ground.

"Mr. Lirios, this really hurts." Elesis squeezed out.

"Sorry sorry, there I go forgettin my own strength again." He said with a chuckle. He then extended his arm to Ryan, "You must be Ryan, Pleased to meetcha."

"Well I'm pleased to meet you to, just as long as you don't hug me." Mr. Lirios laughed again.

"Come on in and have a seat." Arme, Elesis and Ryan followed Mr. Lirios into the back of the pub (Where he lived) And sat down at the table. "You kids wait right here I'll get you something to eat."

Ryan looked around, "So you two will be working here?" he asked.

"What about you?"

"I have no idea how to get a human job!"

Arme scratched her head, "Oh yeah, I never thought about that." Suddenly from out of nowhere a bowl of soup came flying and landed on Ryan's head.

Ryan jumped out of his seat, "Hot Hot Hot!" he screamed.

"Oh no I'm sorry," The pink-haired waitress jumped up and grabbed some water. throwing it on Ryan. He looked at her angrily. "Sorry..." She spologized again.

"Mr. Lirios walked in and sighed, "That's why I didn't want you carrying anything hot, Amy."

Amy turned and bowed to Mr. Lirios, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Mr. Lirios sighed again, "It's alright, Amy. Come with me Ryan, I'm sure I can find something for you to wear." Ryan followed Mr. Lirios out of the room.

Arme and Elesis stared at Amy, "Don't you have customers to deal with?" Elesis asked her.

"Oh no, Mr. Lirios opens the pub at noon and closes it pretty early, then we open again in the evening."

"That seems like a pretty odd way to do things." Arme commented.

Amy shrugged, "That's Mr. Lirios for you. He's kinda wierd but he's such a nice old man." Amy said as she took Ryan's seat. "I'm Amy who are you."

"I'm Arme and this is Elesis," Arme told her. "Mr. Lirios is an old friend so that's why were here."

"Ok so your Armie and Elie."

Arme's eyes narrowed, "Ar-may, she said slowly."

"Ar-mee," Amy copied her.

"Ay-mee..." Arme said in an attempt to annoy Amy. Arme sat there and thought about what she had just said, _"Dammit!" _She screamed inside her head.

Elesis put her arm in front of Arme, "It's not worth it Arme." She whispered

"You're right," Arme whispered back as she glared at Amy who was rocking back and forth on her seat.

"So, you know Mr. Lirios, huh?"

"Yes he was an old frie-"

"He's such a nice old man, don'tcha think?"

"Yeah, he's like a fath-"

"I bet it would be so cool to have a father like him, right?"

"Yeah, it would be great." Arme answered quickly as Elesis tried to hold her in her seat.

"So Amy, why did you come to Ellia? I mean, with Kaze'aze and all." Elesis asked.

"Oh, well I was originally born in Silverland but then I went to Xenia and was fighting there but General Kirion told me that I would be needed in Ellia. Don't know why but here I am just looking for someone who can tell me."

Elesis leaned in next to Arme, "You don't think that she's..."

"Absolutely not!" Arme said quickly, "No chance in hell!"

"So Amy, what exactly is Xenia?" Elesis said, disregarding Arme's little outburst.

"Another continent of course, filled with really strong monsters and stuff."

"And you were fighting there?"

"Well I was never really that helpful, I mostly just danced for the soldiers who were fighting. I fought my hardest but the monsters on Xenia are way to strong, I did a lot better when I got here."

"Oh, so your a dancer?"

Amy head bounce up and down, "Mm-hm, I'm the cutest dancer you'll ever meet," She said as she blew a kiss towards Elesis.

"I see..." There was an awkward silence as Elesis stopped Arme from atacking Amy while hiding her own annoyance.

"We're back Mr. Lirios announced as he and Ryan walked in. Ryan was now wearing a very large, baggy shirt that was several sizes to big for him and a pair of shorts that extended almost to his feet. "Sorry it took so long, I had to get creative to make my clothes stay on the kid." he motioned to the fact that the clothes Ryan was wearing were tied on with about five ropes. "Sorry about that Ryan, I'll make sure your clothes get dry before we head out to the blacksmith."

Ryan walked up to his seat, which Amy was still sitting in, and glared down at her. Amy jumped up and hid behind Mr. Lirios. She poked her head out after Ryan had sat down, "S-sorry, again." she apologized. Ryan turned and glared at her again.

"Come on Amy, let's get them something to eat." Amy followed Mr. Lirios out of the room.

Elesis looked back and forth at Arme and Ryan who were just sitting there with their arms crossed. "Come on guys, she's not that bad." Arme and Ryan both turned and glared at Elesis, "What's with the mean looks?"

"I don't like her." Ryan claimed.

"At least you don't have to work with her." Arme retorted

"True. I'm certainly happy about that."

Mr. Lirios and Amy came back into the room with plates full of food. "Eat up guys," Mr. Lirios told em as he took one of the empty seats around the table. Amy uncomfortably sat down next to Elesis.

"Are they mad at me," Amy asked Elesis.

"A little bit but don't let it get to you."

"Why is Amy still here?" Arme asked.

"Well I didn't have any money when I got here so Mr. Lirios lets me sleep here and feeds me in exchange for working." Amy answered. Arme went straight to eating without another word. After they had eaten dinner Mr. Lirios went to get Ryan's clothes which had miraculously dried within the hour since he took them off.

"Those dried really quick." Amy observed.

"Elven materials," Ryan responded abruptly. Amy pouted. Elesis walked up behind her and patted her back. "Don't let him get to you, he would barely talk to me when I first met him."

"But I don't like being ignored," Amy complained.

After Ryan was dressed and the pub was locked up, Mr. Lirios lead everyone to the blacksmith.

"Why is she coming?" Arme asked angrily.

"It's not that big a deal, Arme." Elesis told her. Arme looked away from Elesis and Amy. "Arme when I said go back to being the annoying kid you were I didn't mean that you should make big deal out nothing!" Elesis told her. Arme just stuck her tounge out at Elesis and ran to catch up to Mr. Lirios. "Little brat." Elesis muttered.

When they arrived at the blacksmith's shop, Mr. Lirios went straight to the smith. "Hey there Jem, haven't seen you at the pub in awhile."

"Yeah well times are tough, Greil."

"I know, I know. I'm here to get these two some top notch weapons." He said as he pushed Elesis and Ryan up to the counter.

"What're you lookin for?"

"A battle axe." Ryan responded quickly.

"I need a long sword." Elesis told him.

"And you want top notch huh? You know this won't be cheap, don't you?"

"Of course but these kids are part of the Grand Chase. They're here to help chase off Kaze'aze, I just want to do my part."

"Grand Chase, huh? All right I'll give you a little discount but only because we're friends, Greil." The smith went into the back room and came back with an unadorned long sword and an unadorned axe. "I'll grant ya that they ain't pretty but these are the sharpest and most durable weapons around." Elesis reached forward taking the sword and swung it around a little.

"I like the weight," She said, "I'll take it."

Ryan also grabbed the axe and swung it around a bit. "It's like this thing was made for me."

As Mr. Lirios was getting the payment for the weapons a giant crash was heard outside. They all ran out of the smith to see what happened. On the outskirts of town there was a giant hooded man riding a purple gorgos. He was next to a giant stone which he had split in two.

"People of Orinig," The enormous man bellowed. "Understand that if any one of you rebel you will all face this same fate." Elesis and Ryan charged into the outskirts.

"I don't think so," Elesis claimed confidently lifting her new sword.

"You dare stand against Kaze'aze?" The man bellowed loudly.

"Oh yeah, because we're the ones who will destroy her once and for all!" Ryan screamed in reply.

"If you truly believe you will be able to do so then you will literally have to walk over my dead body." The hooded man jumped off the gorgos, shaking the ground as he landed. He lifted the giant sword that was stuck in the ground above his head with one hand and used it to point at Ryan. "Dark Gorgos. Destroy that boy." The man ordered. The grogos immediately charged Ryan throwing him backwards and seperating him from Elesis.

_"That's a gorgos." _Elesis thought to herself, _"What the hell is it doing here."_

"Indeed that is the gorgos which your friends defeated." The hooded man told her, reading her thoughts. "My mistress filled it with dark power and revived it's corpse as the dark gorgos which is even stronger than a mighty red gorgos."

"And you ride that thing." Elesis commented, "I will admit that you're impressive."

The man raised his sword up and pointed it as Elesis, "Don't even think about helping your friend for I am your opponent." The man charged Elesis and swung his sword down on her. Elesis blocked the attack which drove her to the ground. Elesis rolled as her opponent tried to slash her again.

"Your strong," Elesis told him.

"You have already said that." The man retorted.

"When the hell did I-"

"Just think about it and you may figure it out." The man responded, interrupting her.

"Why the hell do you work for Kaze'aze?" Elesis screamed at her.

"Because Kaze'aze is strong and accepting of those with power.

"What kind of reason is that?"

"Quite simple, actually. I don't want to die and going against Kaze'aze is suicide."

"The way you talk..."

As Elesis fought the hooded man, Ryan was having his own battle against the man's mount. The gorgos swung it's claw at Ryan who blocked with his axe. Ryan swung his axe hard smashing the gorgos' claw and throwing it back. The gorgos immediately reared back it's head and released a stream of purple fire at him. Ryan dived and rolled to avoid the fire. the gorgos immediately spun and swung ir's claw at Ryan again. Ryan dodged the claw this time, trying to avoid making the gorgos breathe fire in the direction of the town.

_"Dammit, this thing is relentless I have no chance to attack," _Ryan thought. The gorgos reared it's head back, getting ready to unleash another stream of flames at Ryan when a chakram came flying out of the sky and hit the gorgos' forhead, knocking it off balance. Ryan turned to see Amy catch the returning chakram.

Amy turned to Ryan and winked, "Sorry I'm late, I had to go back to the pub and pick up these." She said as she held up her two chakram.

Ryan stood quickly, "Get out of here, it's dangerous for people who don't know how to fight!"

"I know how to fight just fine!" Amy retorted.

"Fine then just stay out of my way!" He yelled as he charged the gorgos who had regained it's balance. Ryan jumped and swung his axe downwards in an attempt to split the gorgos' skull. The gorgos threw it's claw above it's head just in time to block Ryan's attack. The recoil of the block spun Ryan around, causing him to land on his back. The gorogs raised his claw to slash ryan but one of Amy's chakram came flying by and smashed into the gorgos's claw. The gorgos immediately turned it's attention to Amy, realeasing a stream of fire in her direction. Amy dove out of the way of the fire and Ryan came running back to meet her. "Thanks. At least your not as clumsy in battle as you are with food."

Amy stuck her tounge out at Ryan. "meanie."

"This thing only knows one trick, but it's an effective trick." Ryan told her, shrugging off her insult.

"I'll distract it, you go in and try to take off it's head." Ryan nodded and ran towards the gorgos. Amy threw her chakram which hit the gorgos in the head, effectively gaining it's attention. As Amy distracted the gorgos, Ryan got underneath it's neck and swung his axe upwards as hard as he can. His axe hit the gorgos' neck and bounce off.

"What the hell!" Ryan yelled as the gorgos swung it's claw at him. He jumped back avoiding the claw and met back up with Amy. "That thing's skin is as hard as the troll's!" He yelled, "But I'm not sure if this one has a soft spot." Ryan and Amy dodged another stream of fire. "Dammit we're getting closer to putting the village in the sight of it's fire."

"Then we have to run the other way." Amy decided while turning and beginning to run back.

"Amy don't! It won't need to position itself if we go back, it'll just attack." Ryan yelled as the gorgos reared back it's head and breathed fire at an angle that Amy was going to run right in to. Sure enough, Amy ran right into the path of the fire and froze when she realized that the fire was less than a second away from her. Ryan came from out of nowhere and tackled her, knocking her out of the way. Amy thanked Ryan as she stood up. Ryan tried to stand up but fell right back down. He looked down tto see that his right leg had been burned by the fire.

"Ryan! your hurt." Amy started to sniffle, "I-I'm sorry, your hurt because I did something stupid," She sobbed.

"Quit crying!" Ryan yelled at her, "I promised myself that if someone in front of me was in danger then I would protect them, no matter what happened to me. That's the least I could do considering what I did. No matter how many times Elesis tells me that it wasn't my fault, I still made that promise."

Amy stopped crying and her cheeks turned a little pink, "That's so cool Ryan." Suddenly the gorgos loosed a huge roar and reared it's head back.

"Amy get out of here, that things angry. This next blast is gonna be bigger than the others."

Amy shook her head and grabbed hold of Ryan, "You protected me and now you can't move so let me protect you this time." The gorgos loosed a huge stream of fire far bigger than the previous ones. Amy rolled to avoid it but the gorgos began turning towards her while still breathing fire. Amy ran from the fire, dragging Ryan along. She looked over and saw that Elesis was clashing swords with the hooded rider. Amy ran as fast as she could and dropped Ryan a safe distance from the fire before turning and throwing her chakram at the hooded man. As he recoiled she charged at them grabbed Elesis and dove out of the way of the fire. The man regained his balance in time to realize that he was about to be engulfed by the fire. he braced himself and yelled at the gorgos to stop but it was to late, the fire fully engulfed him. Shortly afterwards the fire stopped. The three warriors looked at the gorgos to see sharp icicles pinning it's tail to the ground. standing at the entrance of town, directly behind the gorgos, was Arme holding a long purple wand with a glowing black gem attached to it.

"A gorgos' weakness is it's tail!" She yelled at the other three fighters. Amy charged forward and threw both her chakram at the gorgos' tail. The Chakram smash into the tail causing the gorgos' tail to break free and swing into the air "You're done!" Arme yelled as she aimed the wand at the tail and a beam of black energy shot from her wand, destroying the tail. The gorgos flailed around in pain. Arme aimed her wand again and released that same black energy at the gorgos' head. "Amy I weakened the skin around the head! Quickly you have to crush it's skull!" Amy hopped off the ground throwing both her chakram at the gorgos' head with great force. they smashed the gorgos' skull at the same time and, immediately afterwards, Amy came flying down jamming her foot into the gorgos' head, crushing it. The gorgos let out a small roar and slumped down to the ground, dead. Arme ran around the gorgos' corpse to reach Amy as Elesis helped Ryan over to them.

"Wow Armie!" Amy cheered, "Your so strong!" Arme's eye twitched slightly as she held herself back from strangling Amy.

"Where'd that wand come from?" Ryan asked

"When you and Elesis went to fight me and Mr. Lirios went and looked through all his storage to see if we could find one. I'm lucky that there was one there at all." As the group talked a small seal carved from metal flew from behind them landing near the gorgos. The seal began to glow and a larger seal appeared around the gorgos causing it's body to disappear. The group turned towards the direction the seal coem from to see the hooded man. His cloak had been burned, revealing his face. Arme took a step back, "No way." she said aloud.

Elesis looked dissapointed, "Dammit, somehow I knew it was you but I didn't want to believe it. I had hoped that our second meeting would come under better circumstances... Agano."

"I had hoped for the same thing," Agano told Elesis. "But it seems that we are destined to fight. Unfortunately our fight for today was interrupted. I noticed that you were far stronger that the last time we fought, did you perhaps find a more powerful and worthy reason to fight. I look forward to exploring that in the future." As Agano finished he dropped another of the seals at his own feet, dissapearing.

"Agano..." Elesis trailed off, "Dammit! I had hoped that he could find someplace that would accept him, someplace where he could live freely despite the fact that he's an orc."

"That was wistful thinking from the very beginning," Arme replied, "I think we both knew that that is where he would end up."

"Yeah your right but still..."

"Ok I know that there's a story behind that and I want to hear it as soon as I get this burn looked at." Ryan told them from the ground, "Anyone wanna help me back into town?"

"I'll do it!" Amy said cheerily as she skipped up to him. She threw his arm over her shoulder and helped him to his feet. "Thanks for saving me." Amy whispered to him, "I know you don't like me very much but I think that you and that promise you made to yourself are pretty cool." Ryan blushed a little at the fact that there was someone who knew about his promise.

"Just don't tell Elesis," he whispered back, "If you promise me that then I'll try to get along with you." Amy nodded her head happily and the continued into town.

When they arrived back in town the whole town came out to greet their heroes. Everyone wanted to thank them and someone wrapped Ryan's burn up immediately. After the crowd had died down a little the blacksmith walked up to Elesis and Arme.

"Thank you for what you and your friends did girls. Be sure to tell Greil that I won't be needing payment for those weapons I gave you ok. I;m behind you so go out there and beat Kaze'aze into the ground."

"As soon as we can, we will." Elesis responded. The blacksmith nodded and headed back to his forge while Arme and Elesis headed back to the inn. They were greeted in the lobby by the Ryan and the old man who owned the inn.

"Ah girls your here! the old man exclaimed, "Don't worry about paying your tab, your room is free of charge." The kids thanked the old owner and headed up to their room.

"That was certainly an interesting battle, even though I wasn't there for most of it." Arme commented.

"Tell me the story behind you two and that talking orc!" Ryan demanded.

As Arme started telling Ryan the story about how she and Elesis met Agano, Elesis just stared out of the window.

"Agano..." Elesis sighed, "It looks like me and you are enemies again."

* * *

Whoo there's another 6000 words out of the mind. This is easily the longest chapter I've written so far and honestly I'm having great fun writing this. Now I know that Amy was never in Ellia but this story will not be going to Xenia. I have an idea for a sequel that will take place in Xenia but this particular story will not move to Xenia and I had to figure out some way to get Amy in, I hope you all enjoyed it. Also I have cookies (cyber cookies) that go to anyone who actually managed to figure out that Agano was under the hood before Amy burned it away because my proofreader, who is quite smart when it comes to figuring out faces beneath hoods, thought that it was Eiau under there.

Well as always review and have a nice day.


	13. Under the sea

Ok this chapter took way to long considering it's length but what can I say. I have my second semester of exams coming up and I need to do extra credit work to get my marks high enough for university in a couple of my classes and on top of all that I broke my foot at the same time I got food poisoning... When Shit happens it happens all at once... The next chapter will be ready when it's ready, I hope it doesn't take to long.

Enjoy

* * *

Lire notched an arrow and fired it at the silver-haired boy. The boy jumped back and shot a wave of blue energy at Lire. The wave hit the area at Lire's feet, sending up a shock wave and throwing her on her back. Lire stood up quickly, notching another arrow and aiming at the boy. The boy jumped back and launched another wave of blue energy at Lire. She dove to the side and released the arrow at the boy. He caught the arrow in midair, snapping it with one hand. The boy landed on the ground and dashed towards Lire at a ridiculous speed. Lire tried to backstep and avoid him but the boy threw his arm forward to quickly and grabbed Lire's neck. He held her above the ground. Lire looked down at his eyes and noticed that one of the eyes was glowing white, as it had every other time she had seen him, but the other was a light blue. The smirk dropped from the boy's face as he loosened his grip on Lire's neck and placed her on the ground. The boy drew close to Lire's face, so close that the tips of their noses were touching.

"Wy do we fight?" The boy asked calmly, in a far more masculine voice than he ever had before.

"What do you mean?" Lire asked, scared.

The boy tilted his head further in so that their foreheads were touching. "Why do you and I fight each other?"

"Because you're being used by Kaze'aze and I have no choice but to fight you."

"Do you seek the death of Kaze'aze?"

"Of course."

"Would you be willing to end my life in order to kill Kaze'aze?"

"I wouldn't kill anyone who is innocent."

"What if killing me was the only way to kill Kaze'aze, would you kill me?"

"I... I wouldn..."

"What if killing your friends is necessary to stop the evil. Would you kill them?"

"I... I couldn't."

"Then you're a hypocrite. If you promise to save the world from Kaze'aze then you must do so, by any means. Don't worry about my life, death has always followed me. I have done horrible things in my life and now Kaze'aze uses me for more horrible things. You must kill me. Killing me will forcefully destroy Kaze'aze's control. When her control is broken by force then she becomes vulnerable and the barrier that prevents any from entering her castle will dissipate for a short time. That is your only chance to get into the castle and destroy her. Save everyone from her, from me. No matter what the others say you must kill me and destroy Kaze'aze, then the world may be saved. I will be expecting death shortly."

"What the hell, how can you say something like that!"

Suddenly the boy's blue eye began glowing white again and he stumbled. "She is pulling me back." He told her, "My name is Lass. Please, you must help me destroy Kaze'aze and pay my debt to the world." The boy disappeared.

"What just happened?" Lire asked herself.

"Lire! Lire!" Ronan's voice came from out of nowhere. "Lire! Lire, say something!"

"What is going on!" she yelled as she fell backwards, hitting her head.

* * *

Lire's eyes opened and her head shot up smacking Ronan's nose.

Ronan staggered back grabbing his nose. "Owwwww" he moaned.

Lire looked at Ronan sheepishly. "Sorry..." She apologized.

"Ib's fide," Ronan said holding his nose.

Lire stood up and her feet came up off the ground. She spun around in the air a few times before she managed to get her feet back on the ground. After Lire had made sure she would stay on the ground she looked around realizing that she was underwater. "Ronan where are we?" Lire asked amazed.

"I Thing we'le unter the waber." Ronan replied still holding his nose. He released his hand from his nose and his blood slowly started to float up above his head. He quickly grabbed his nose again, "see?"

Lire watched as Ronan's blood slowly rose up in the water. "How are we breathing, moving and talking normally down here?"

"I done know." Ronan replied.

"Lire, Ronan!" Someone called to them. Ronan and Lire turned towards the voice to see captain Emil running towards them. His fancy coat was gone but other than that he looked fine.

Lire ran up to the captain and immediately started shooting questions at him. "Why are we underwater? How are we underwater? How can we breathe down here?" Lire asked without giving the captain any time to respond.

"Lire!" He yelled, "Calm down."

"Sorry." Lire apologized quickly.

"This isn't the time for me to be explaining that. There's someone who wants to see you two so follow me." The captain told them.

"Who wants to see us?" Lire asked curious.

"Lire, stop asking so many questions." Ronan told her in his normal voice.

"Oh, is your nose better?" Lire asked.

"That was a question." Ronan told her.

"Sorry." Lire said as she ran up and walked beside the captain.

Ronan stopped for a moment and looked out around the sea. "Uncle Raq, I hope you're safe out there." He muttered to himself before running to catch up with Lire and the captain.

After a long walk at the bottom of the sea, they finally arrived at a small cave in a cove.

"He's just in here." Emil told the pair.

"Who is he?" Lire asked very impatiently.

"Why don't you go in and see for yourself." Lire charged into the cave first. "Is it just me, or does Lire's personality jump around a lot?" The captain asked Ronan.

Ronan shrugged, "Yeah but that's what makes her Lire, at least she's always responsible." The captain nodded in agreement as he led Ronan into the cave. As Ronan and the captain entered the cave Lire came rushing up to them.

"R-Ronan!" Lire yelled suddenly serious. "It's him!"

"Him? Who's him?"

"The statue that attacked the Viridian!" Lire yelled.

The captain chuckled, "He may have been the model for the statue but he's not evil." He told them. "Follow me and you'll see."

Ronan followed the captain dutifully as Lire clung to the back of his cloak and followed behind him.

"Welcome back Emil." The large man greeted the captain. He was tall and very muscular with a long white beard and a trident in his right hand. "And I also welcome you, chosen children."

Ronan tilted his head to the side slightly. "Excuse me but you look a lot like a statue which attacked our ship on our way to Ellia." He said matter of factly.

"Indeed that was one of my statues which attacked you. I deeply apologize for allowing it to fall into the hands of Kaze'aze." The man said as he bowed to them.

The captain chuckled again. "Well look at that Ronan you managed to get a deity bowing to you."

Ronan looked alarmed, "A deity! Please my lord you have no reason to bow to me!"

The man stood and laughed. "Worry not young warrior for I chose to do so of my own will. I am Partusay master of the seas and rivers. I have heard many tales of Kaze'aze's evils from the birds and animal which drink from my domain. When your ship sank I decided that I must speak with you and so I brought the two of you here to see me."

"So then you're the one who gave us the ability to breathe down here?" Lire asked poking her head out from behind Ronan.

"Indeed I am young lady."

"What about the others?"

"There is a town off the coast of Ellia called Orinig. The animals informed me of trouble there and so I had the waves carry your friends there so that they may help. I must apologize however for when I carried them there I neglected to send them their weapons and when I realized my mistake they had already left the shore.

"I see..." Ronan trailed off, "You can feel anything or anyone that touches the water, correct my lord?"

"Indeed I can young warrior."

"Can you remember how many people touched the water when the ship was destroyed?"

"One moment." Partusay replied as he raised his trident and began to glow with power. "It appears that six living beings from your ship touched the water, the number of dead beings was twelve." Partusay finally answered.

"Six living? Me, Lire, Elesis, Ryan, Arme, and the Captain. That's six isn't it. I guess there really isn't any hope that General Grant survived then."

"Hold it Ronan," The captain cut him off. "My crew numbered myself and twelve men. If what Master Partusay says is true then we're one person short."

"But how, there's no way that someone could've been at the shipwreck without touching the water." Lire cut in.

"Don't be so sure," the Captain told her shaking his finger, "Raq is probably the only one who I would ever believe could. His magic is strong and he could probably use a piece of the statue as a boat if he used a strong enough wind." The Captain turned to Ronan and put his hands on Ronan's shoulders, "I believe in Raq, I know he's alive and I need you to believe in that man to."

Ronan nodded solemnly, "Uncle Raq is alive I know it. I won't rest until I find him."

"And I'll be right by your side.

Over to the side Lire was tearing up (Or she would have been if her tears weren't being absorbed into the sea). She walked up and grabbed Ronan's hands, "I'll help to." She told him with a big smile.

"Thank you." Ronan thanked Lire and the Captain, "He lives, I know it." After Ronan had recollected himself and calmed down, he returned his attention to Partusay. "My apologies, lord Partusay. What was it that you wished to speak to us about?"

"It is Kaze'aze." Partusay began, "I wish for you to do everything in your power to defeat her. We deity's made a pledge that we would never directly interfere with the affairs of mortals and, despite her power, Kaze'aze is still mortal. We deity's would be allowed to join the fight only if she became immortal but by that time it will be to late and that is why we must beg your assistance. We will do what we can to aid you but it is difficult as we try to keep our pledge." Partusay waved his hand and lifted his trident. A completely unadorned sword and bow appeared before him. "These weapons are exceptionally powerful," Partusay told them, "I sent the other weapons to the shore and requested that the animals deliver them to Orinig. Two of them found their way to a blacksmith's hands and the last to the owner of the pub in Orinig. If your friends have not yet found these weapons then you must guide them to their weapons. Now take the weapons, they now belong to you."

Ronan stepped forward and grabbed the sword that floated before him. It immediately sunk into his hand, a perfect fit. "This sword is amazing, it fits my hand perfectly." Ronan said astounded.

Lire looked at the bow reluctantly. "Is something wrong?" Partusay asked her.

Lire looked at the ground, "I-I appreciate your kindness in granting us these weapons but I'd prefer to use the one that I had before coming down here." She told him.

"I see," Partusay closed his eyes and held up his trident after a short time he had the five pieces of Lire's Mother's bow in front of him. "This is the weapon you speak of correct?" Lire looked at the bow with a horrified look on her face. "Fear not young warrior," Partusay reassures her as the unadorned bow melted into an odd plasma. The plasma flowed into the pieces of Lire's bow and it quickly reconstructed itself. "I have added the power of our weapon to your own, this bow is still yours it has simply become more powerful."

Lire stepped forward and wrapped her hand around the bow. "It feels exactly the same as it did before." Lire said happily, "Thank you, Master Partusay."

"Emil you shall be accompanying these children, correct?"

"Indeed I will, My lord. I will guide them in Raq's place, so that they may gain the power to destroy Kaze'aze. This is how I will avenge my crew."

Partusay nodded, "Very well. I shall send you all to the shore, you should first head to Orinig and find your friends and, of course you must find the other warriors. Worry not about the seals as I protected them. Now hurry Kaze'aze's power increases with every wasted second, remember the wishes of the deity's follow you." Partusay raised his trident and a power swirled around Lire, Ronan and Captain Emil. The three passed out.

* * *

Lire's eyes flickered open. She sat up and looked around to see that she is lying on the beach.

"Morning Glory!" Ronan greeted her from a fire that he and Emil had made. "We'll be heading towards Orinig in the morning. Come over here and have some fish."

Lire sat down next to Ronan and grabbed some fish. "How long will it take us to get to Orinig?" She asked the captain.

"It's a ways to the west," He replied, "if we leave first thing then we'll make it there around the time the pub opens. The owners an old friend of mine so I'm sure he'll help us out." Lire nodded and went back to eating her fish. "Anyways," The captain continued, "Partusay told me a bit about your quest and what you have to do. You need two more warriors to complete your group right?"

Lire nodded, "Yeah but the only clue we have to go on are the seals which glow when the chosen get near them."

"Lire..." Ronan said reluctantly, "There's somethin I have to tell you."

Lire looked at Ronan concerned, "What is it?"

"Back when Thomas was fighting Kaze'aze do you remember how that boy tried to force Kaze'aze out of his body?" Lire nodded, "For that short time he regained control of himself one of the seals started to glow... That boy is one of us, Lire."

Lire's eyes grew huge as she remembered her dream. She looked down at the ground.

"_That boy is one of us... but the only way to defeat Kaze'aze is to kill him._" Lire stared at Ronan with a look of disbelief on her face. "What are we going to do?"

* * *

Man that took freaking forever and it's not even that long. Well I'll try to get the next one out faster.

Review and Have a Nice Day.


	14. The sixth hero

Well this one took no time at all. Another short chapter, but the next one is gona be nice and long.

Enjoy

* * *

Lire, Ronan and Captain Emil Arrived at Orinig early in the morning as the sun rose.

"It's amazing that we could get here without any problems." Lire commented as they entered the town. It was still early and very few people were on the streets. All the stores were just beginning to open as the sun slowly crept over the plains lighting the town.

"Beautiful..." Ronan commented with a content smile on his face, "I wish I could've brought my mother to see this sight."

"It's always awe-inspiring here, never wears off." The Captain commented. "Ok so here's our plan for now. There's an Inn about 10 minutes down the road you kids go and get us a room." He told them as he handed them a sack of money. "I have to go and talk to somone but then I'll meet you at the Inn. We'll go to the pub, eat something and while we're there we can ask around about the others. There aren't any people out yet so we'll just have to wait for the pub, a lot of people eat there and there's always a new rumor going around so we may be able to figure something out." Lire and Ronan nodded and headed towards the Inn while the Captain ran over to a store near the entrance of town. It didn't take long for them to find the Inn.

"Welcome," The old man at the counter greeted them. "What can I help you with."

"We'd like a room for the night," Ronan responded pulling out the bag of money.

"So a room for two then?"

Lire shook her head, "We have another man staying with us as well, he has blonde hair and he's wearing black clothes."

"I see, very well then I'll send him to your room as soon as he arrives."

Ronan thanked the man as he paid for the room and accepted the key. He and Lire walked up the stairs and into the room at the back of the hall. Shortly after they had gone into their room the door to the next room over opened and Elesis and Arme came walking out. Ryan followed shortly behind.

Elesis turned and looked at Ryan dumbfounded. "Who would have thought that the Inn's owner would have some old elven medicine in his attic?"

"I know," Ryan replied, "The plant used to make the stuff is extinct now but man is it ever effective. I just had a pretty hot burn and two days later, I'm walking."

"The elves of old really were amazing." Arme commented as she headed down the stairs. "Now hurry up I don't want to still be gone if Agano returns." Elesis and Ryan followed after her quickly.

"Good morning Mr. Darli." Arme greeted the Inn's owner.

"Arme, Elesis, Ryan, good morning." The owner greeted, overly enthusiastic. "Where are you kids going today?"

"We decided last night that we would go investigate the abandoned keep outside of town." Arme explained, "I know that no ones been there for years but I'll bet that Kaze'aze is using it as a base to attack Orinig so I wanted to check it out. I feel bad since we're supposed to be helping Amy at the pub but I just can't shake this feeling that something dangerous is up there."

The Inn's owner nodded in agreement, "Do your best." He encouraged them.

Elesis and Arme nodded and headed out the door. Before leaving, Ryan turned to the owner. "Thank you for the medicine, sir."

"Don't worry about it Ryan just make sure you take down Kaze'aze for us."

"Yes Sir!" Ryan replied happily as he headed out the door.

"All right then, follow me," Arme ordered as the three warriors headed towards the keep on the far outskirts of town.

As soon as the three were out of sight the Captain, wearing a brand new blue coat walked up and entered the Inn. "Darli!" the Captain greeted.

"Little Emil!" The owner looked surprised, "I thought you were out sailing on that Viridian of yours."

The Captain shrugged, "She sank. At any rate my partners should have arrived earlier."

"You mean those two kids? Blue haired boy, and a blonde elf?"

"That's them."

"Upstairs, the door at the end of the hall." The owner said as he handed him a key.

"Thanks Darli."

As the Captain went up the stairs the Inn owner yelled after him, "How many times do I have to tell you that it's MISTER Darli!" The Captain chuckled to himself as he headed to the room. The Captain opened the door to find Lire asleep and Ronan staring out the window. He walked up to Ronan who was deep in thought.

"What're you thinking about kid?" The Captain asked serenely. Ronan didn't answer. The Captain poked Ronan's shoulder, "Ronan, you there?"

Ronan blinked slowly, "What? Oh, hello Captain when did you get back?"

The Captain shook his head, "Not long ago but you were completely out and so is Lire," He said as he pointed to Lire on the bed.

"Sorry Captain," Ronan apologized, "I was just thinking about where Uncle Raq may have gone."

"Believe in Raq, Ronan. He'll find us, for now you have to focus on finding the others and stopping Kaze'aze."

Ronan nodded, "You're right, of course. But I just can't shake this feeling that if we don't find him then something bad will happen."

The Captain patted Ronan's shoulders. "Let's get something to eat, that should help you."

Ronan nodded. He walked over to the bed and started shaking Lire. "Lire wake up," He told her without leaning his head over her.

Lire's eyes slowly opened. "Mmmm, Whats wrong." Lire moaned, annoyed.

"We're going to eat and collect information, you coming?"

Lire sat up and rubbed her eyes, "Ok, I'm coming," She answered groggily.

Ronan yawned, "Geez it's contagious, go splash some water on your face." He commanded.

Lire nodded, and stumbled out the door to ask the innkeeper for some water. Ronan and the Captain followed close behind to make sure she didn't fall down the stairs. After Lire had woken herself up the group started heading towards the pub. As they walked Ronan spoke to the Captain about General Grant and Lire tried to come up with a plan for helping Lass.

"What should we do about that boy that Kaze'aze is controlling?" She asked cutting Ronan's conversation with the Captain short.

Ronan shook his head, "I have no idea. If we beat Kaze'aze then he should be free, but if we don't free him beforehand then he will probably get in our way as we fight her."

"_Should I tell him what the boy said in my dream?_" Lire asked herself, "_If I did then he would probably want to kill him so that we could get to Kaze'aze... Is that really the only way?_"

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," The captain encouraged in his usual cheery voice. "For now we find the ones that we know how to speak to."

"Ronan nodded in agreement, "One step at a time." Lire nodded.

Shortly after the three were seated at the pub waiting for the waitress. Amy came running up to the table.

"Welcome," She said cheerily, "I'm Amy, is there anything I can help you with?"

"We haven't decided what to eat yet but I would Like to speak to Greil." The Captain told her, "Please tell him that Emil is here to see him."

Amy nodded, "Ok, no problem," She said as she skipped off. As she left the dim, pink glow that had appeared in Ronan's cloak quickly faded away, unnoticed.

Amy skipped into the back room. She found Mr. Lirios at the back door talking to Elesis, Arme and Ryan.

"Thank you for the food, Mr. Lirios." Ryan thanked him.

"Not a problem kids." He replied as he pulled out a backpack, "Here you go take this and make sure you eat right while you're out of town. We don't need the bane of Kaze'aze losing due to malnutrition now do we."

Elesis giggled, "Thank you Mr. Lirios! Remember that if anything happens you just have to call Amy!" She yelled back at him as she left with Arme and Ryan.

After they were around the corner, Amy walked up to Mr. Lirios. "There's a man named Emil here who wants to speak to you." Amy told him happily.

"Emil's back!" Mr. Lirios responded, surprised, "It's about damn time that kid came home."

Amy looked around the corner. "Where are They headed?" She asked curiously.

"They think that the old keep out at the end of the towns outskirts is being used as a base by Kaze'aze so they're going to check it out." Mr. Lirios explained, "I made sure that they had plenty of food before they went of coruse, it's really all I can do."

"Amy pouted, "Why didn't they ask me to go with them?" She complained.

"We need you here in case that Orc comes back Amy."

Amy kept pouting, "But I wanna help them with the dangerous stuff, I doubt that orc will be back anytime soon."

Mr. Lirios patted her head, "Don't worry about it Amy. Now show me what table Emil is sitting at." Amy nodded, put her big goofy smile back on her face and led Mr. Lirios to Emil's table.

"Emil!" Mr. Lirios greeted with his arms opened wide.

The Captain put his hands up, "No you don't big guy. No hugs."

Mr. Lirios laughed, "So why'd you come back Captain Emil. Did ya finally find that lost continent."

The Captain shook his head, "The Viridian sank and my entire crew is dead. Good ol' Raq was on the boat to and now he's gone missing."

"Even Grant, huh?"

The Captain nodded solemnly. "I was transporting some kids for the Grand Chase when we got attacked. These two are members and we're looking for the other three that supposedly washed up on Ellia."

Mr. Lirios looked at Emil for a few moments. "Are they Arme, Elesis and Ryan by any chance?"

Ronan and Lire jumped out of their seats, "That's them, Where are they?" They asked in unison.

"They just left town actually. They were headed to the old abandoned keep out at the tail end of the town's outskirts thinkin it might be one of Kaze'aze's bases."

"Can you please show us a map so that we can get there?"

"I'll see if I can find one. First make sure you eat something or you won't be able to fight. Amy get them something to eat."

"Ok!" Amy responded as she skipped off merrily. Once again, the faint pink glow in Ronan's cloak went unnoticed.

* * *

Elesis, Arme, and Ryan trudged through the village outskirts towards the keep that was on a large hill about an hour out of town.

"About how much longer till we get there?" Elesis asked impatiently.

Ryan turned the map around trying to figure out how to read it, "Sorry Elesis, I can't read human characters."

"Then why are you the one holding the map!" She yelled as she snatched the map out of Ryan's hand. She looked down at the mark and then checked their surroundings. She pointed at a large rock in the distance. "That's on the map so we're about here and the keep is here so we're closer to the keep than the village at this point. Not to much farther."

Arme started digging through the backpack and pulled out a second map. "According to this old map of the keep there's two entrances. This thing isn't to reliable though since walls and floors could've collapsed since they made it but I say we try for the back entrance. If Kaze'aze or her minions are waiting in the keep then they'll probably be waiting in the old war room. The back entrance is farther from the war room than the front so there should be less guards there."

Ryan nodded in agreement. "Ok then when we see the keep we stop and eat so we have energy then we head in. After we're done here we need to return to the village in case Agano shows himself or if anyone else from the boat appears." The group nodded in agreement and kept walking.

* * *

Mr. Lirios found an old map of the keep and brought it out to Lire and Ronan. "This is a very old map, not sure if it's still accurate or not."

"That's alright, Mr. Lirios," Ronan said as he accepted the map, "This will be a great help."

"Well I'm glad I can help. If you ever need anything then you can ask almost anyone in the town. They're all keeping an eye out for you two, at the request of Arme of course."

Ronan nodded as he looked over the map, "Nice to see that someone can be responsible in our absence." Lire nodded in agreement. "You done eating Lire?"

Lire pushed the food away from her and nodded. "I can't eat anything more, let's go."

"Ok there are two entrances. Looks like the front entrance is closer to the war room where an enemy general is most likely to be. I doubt those three would think to go through the safer entrance so we should enter from the front to try and catch them." After Ronan had explained the plan to Lire he turned to the Captain. "Captain you stick around here and keep an eye on things for us."

"Of course Ronan, no problem. I may be in fancy clothes but I'm a rough and tough sailor at heart. I'll protect the town while you guys are gone."

"Just remember that if a silver-haired boy appears don't engage him, evacuate the town instead."

"Right!" the Captain replied giving Ronan a thumbs up.

Ronan turned to join Lire at the door when Mr. Lirios stopped him. "Ronan what the hell is that?" he asked as he pointed to a pink glowing spot on Ronan's cloak. Rona dug through his cloak pulling out the last seal that had yet to find an owner. It glowed a dim pink.

Ronan looked at the people in the room, since Mr. Lirios had closed the pub so that the group could talk there was only him, Lire, Amy, Lirios, and the Captain in the room.

"Can't be the Captain because the seal didn't glow before this."

"I was alive back the first time they went up against Kaze'aze so I doubt it's me." Mr. Lirios chimed in, "So that just leaves..." His head slowly turned and his eyes landed on Amy.

Ronan walked up to her. "Try touching this." He said.

Amy looked at the odd glowing seal, and slowly her hand began to creep forward. As soon as she touched the seal it burst into a bright pink glow. "What did I just do?" Amy screamed. After a short time the seal began to calm down and grew dimmer. "What just happened?" She muttered out.

Ronan and Lire just stared at her for a few moments. "The Kanavanian hero just accepted you," Lire explained. "You're one of us, one of the seven heroes who are destined to defeat Kaze'aze."

"What?" Amy stuttered, still amazed by the light.

Ronan proceeded to explain the story of the kanavanian heroes seals and master Urashin's prophecy. "Amy you are the sixth member of our group."

Amy first looked dumbfounded, then scared. She then started jumping. "So I get to come with you guys and hang out with Elesis, Ryan and Armie right?"

"If Armie means Arme, then yes. Please come with us Amy we need you."

"All right, I'm coming with you guys then!" Amy cheered. She then turned to Mr. Lirios, "Sorry Mr. Lirios, but I have to go and save the world."

"Of course Amy, just promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Drag Arme back here after you meet up with her. I need to talk to her about the fact that she didn't mention my old friend's prophecy." Amy giggled and nodded. "Ok you kids just let me get you some food packed so you can eat before going into the keep then you'll be off." Mr. Lirios told them as he went into the back room.

"I can't believe that it was a prophecy by old man Urashin that brought you kids together." The Captain commented.

"Captain thank you for everything you've done for us." Ronan thanked him. "After all this is over and we find uncle Raq then the three of us will get a new ship and find Silverland."

The Captain patted Ronan's head. "The three of us sailing the open seas sounds great kid. But there's one more thing to tell you. Without a ship I can't very well be a captain so from now on I'm Uncle Emil."

Ronan nodded, "Can't wait until we sail together... Uncle Emil." Lire and Amy watched from the side letting Ronan and Emil have their moment.

Mr. Lirios came back into the room holding a backpack just like the one he had given the others. He handed it to Ronan. "Emil get out there and show them which way they gotta walk to get to the keep, I gave my only map of the outskirts to Arme's group. Emil nodded and headed out the door with Ronan, Lire and Amy following close behind.

* * *

Now Amy finally knows she's a hero (Though Arme may not be to happy about it) well like I said a short chapter to get them headed towards the keep and in case any of you haven't figured it out, the keep they're headed to is the dungeon that's called Ellia continent in the game. One thing that kinda gained a life of it's own is how much Ronan needs older men to look up to, oh well.

As always review and have a nice day


	15. Karina's gift

Well I'm back with the next chapter and it took a much shorter amount of time than I expected, which makes me rather happy.

As always, enjoy

* * *

Arme sat at the foot of the hill, staring at the keep above.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked her as he devoured his food, "you've been staring at this place for awhile."

"I just get this really bad feeling from it." Arme explained, "I feel like, when we go in there, I'm going to find something I don't want to."

Ryan waved some bread in her face, "Eat something at least." Arme took the bread and started to eat without taking her eyes of the keep. Ryan turned to Elesis. "So were going to go in the back entrance, right?"

Elesis nodded, "Just a quick walk around the foot of the hill then we can climb up and head inside."

"Make sure you don't overeat," Ryan told her, "If there really is one of Kaze'aze's henchman in there then we could be in for a tough fight."

They waited a little while longer before circling the hill and climbing to the door. There were no guards waiting when they arrived. As they approached nothing stirred. "This is eerie." Ryan commented.

"Remember that this place could be abandoned." Elesis told him.

Arme shook her head. "There's someone, or something, in there. I can feel it."

Elesis cautiously approached the entrance to the keep while Arme created a blade of wind in her hand. Elesis edged nearer and nearer to the entrance. As soon as her foot was inside 3 black scouts dropped from the roof of the keep trying to impale her. Arme quickly split her wind blade into three and threw it at the scouts, knocking them off balance and causing them to miss Elesis. Elesis and Ryan drew their weapons immediately. Ryan charged forward, stepping off his right foot and spinning in the air while swinging his axe down upon two of the scouts. Elesis jabbed the other with her sword and swung it into the wall. The three scouts shattered.

"I knew there was something here." Arme commented. "And now I can't stop myself, I need to find out what." Arme ran ahead.

Elesis and Ryan ran frantically trying to catch up to Arme. When they finally found her she was standing alone in a room surrounded by the shattered remains, of dozens, of scouts and guards.

Arme turned to Elesis and Ryan with an almost evil look in her eyes. "Move it you two! This aura I sense is really starting to bug me!" Arme said unusually aggressive.

"Calm down Arme!" Elesis yelled at her as she grabbed her and dragged her out of the keep. Ryan followed close behind. After they were out of the keep and back at the foot of the hill, Elesis released Arme. "What the hell happened to you!"

Arme, who had calmed down tremendously, looked up at Elesis. "I don't know. I sensed a powerful aura that just made me angry, like I had to find the owner and kill them. It was a familiar aura, one that I remember would always make me angry but I just can't remember the name of the person it belongs to."

"Leave most of the fighting to me and Elesis," Ryan told her. "Just do your best to remain calm or you'll end up exhausting your energy and then you won't have any spells left when we find the leader in there."

Arme nodded in agreement, "You're right, but promise me that when we get to the leader you'll let me fight on my own if I want."

"Fine." Arme nodded again and let Elesis and Ryan take the lead as they once again attempted to brave the keep.

* * *

Back in the outskirts, Ronan, Lire and Amy made their way towards the keep. As they walked (Amy skipped) Ronan and Lire told Amy about what had happened before she joined them.

"Wow, an evil ghost who came back to life because his lover was killed?"

"That's right, it's rather tragic when you think about it."

"Yeah." Amy looked into the sky dreamily, "I wish I could find a guy who would be willing to go to such lengths because of me."

Lire also got a dreamy look on her face, "When you think about it Gaikoz was a great man, although it turned him towards horrible things."

"_My ancestor a great man?" _Ronan thought to himself. "That twisted bastard went to great lengths just to make the people of his former kingdom suffer. I don't care what his reasons were he was the farthest thing from a great man!" Ronan was yelling by the time he was finished.

Lire shrugged, "Sorry Ronan, didn't know you felt so strongly about it." Lire apologized.

Ronan kept walking without a word. Amy leaned into Lire, "Does he always act like that?"

"Not usually but he's really sensitive about certain subjects, I guess Gaikoz is one of them."

"Didn't you say that he was one of the only ones there when Gaikoz was killed? Maybe he saw or heard something that made him so sensitive to it."

"Maybe..."

"I can hear every word you're saying!" Ronan yelled, annoyed.

Amy stopped skipping and Lire took a step back. "Sorry." Lire apologized, frightened.

Ronan anger faded into fatigue and he ran his fingers through his hair. "Just don't mention Gaikoz anymore, Ok?" Lire and Amy nodded. "Good. Let's keep moving I can see the keep from here. The sooner we meet up with the others the better off we'll be." Lire and Amy looked past Ronan to see the keep on top of a hill. It was close now and it wouldn't take much longer to reach it.

After a short time, they arrived at the keep and Ronan pulled out the map. He looked it over carefully. "We'll enter through the front entrance like we agreed." He finally said pointing stright up the hill towards the door.

"What're those?" Amy asked confused pointing up towards the keep. Up near the entrance were many scouts and guards. "Didn't you say they were going to try and hide the fact that they were using the fortress?"

Ronan nodded. "That's right, which can only mean that the others have already gone in. They've posted a guard because they think we already know."

"Well then take them out, Ronan." Lire said happily.

"Me? You're the one with range."

"And you're the one with magic. I won't be able to take them all down before they get to us, not to mention I'd have no arrows left when we go in."

"Fine..." Ronan groaned as he held his right hand forward with his left hand hanging behind him. His lips began to move slowly, with no sound and energy began to flow into his right hand. His eyes shot open as he ripped his sword from it's sheath and forced it into the ground. "Spire drive!" He yelled loudly as many stalactites began rising from the earth beneath the guards. The guards tried to get away but were quickly impailed and shattered on the stalactites. "Run in now, before more guards come!" Ronan yelled to the girls as he charged for the door. Lire and Amy followed close behind.

Once they were inside and safe from the eyes of the many monsters that were running around trying to find out what happened, Ronan fell backwards and sat on the ground, panting heavily. "Are you ok?" Amy asked concerned.

"Magic wears you out." Ronan explained, "Just give me a few minutes, I'll be fine."

"Amy, bring him over here." Lire whispered from a door across the hall. Amy helped Ronan up and got into the room Lire had found. It was an enormous library with no guards in it. Lire and Amy looked around the shelves at some of the book titles.

"Nothing interesting." Amy commented. Lire kept walking around the bookshelves looking at the books.

"Ok I feel better, let's go." Ronan said as he stood up.

"OK!" Amy responded happily, skipping over to Ronan.

"You two go on without me." Lire told them as she continued to look through the many titles.

"Lire we should stay together." Ronan insisted.

"Don't worry about me, there's plenty of places to hide in here. Go find the others and I'll meet up with you later."

Ronan shook his head, "Fine... but don't leave this room unless you have to. We'll come back to get you later. Let's go Amy."

* * *

Ryan's axe crashed down on the ground shattering another guard underneath. "That's the last of em." He commented. "At least for this room."

"You ok back there, Arme?" Elesis asked.

Arme nodded. "I'm fine. If I don't cast my spells."

Elesis pulled out the map of the keep again. "The next room should be the war room. If we were right then we'll be meeting the leader of these things next."

Ryan fell backwards, "Let me rest first."

Elesis sat down across from him, "Yeah I agree, I'm out of energy."

Arme walked over and sat down with them, "Only a short one."

"Easy for you to say, you haven't been fighting at all."

"And who's fault is that?"

"... Shut up."

"So Arme how come you only went berserk when you used your spells?" Elesis asked trying to change the subject.

"The aura that made me angry releases a negative energy into the air around us. So when I opened my body to let the magical energy flow through me, the negative energy entered as well which sent me into a rage."

"How do you know that that's what it is?"

"I studied lots of books about auras and curses and stuff. And I've had to deal with this particular aura before."

"So you know the person in there?"

"I know that master Urashin's first apprentice could use an aura just like this one."

"Then does that mean that Urashin's first apprentice is our opponent!"

"Possible... it would certainly suit that Narcissist." Arme stood up. "I'm going on ahead, you two catch up when you're ready." She told them as she ran ahead. Elesis and Ryan sat and watched Arme leave, alone.

Arme pushed the huge door at the end of the hallway open and stepped inside. Within the room was a large table surrounded by chairs. Arme walked up to the center of the room and looked at the table. There was nothing on it. Arme looked around the room but no one as to be seen.

"_What's going on?" _She asked herself,_ "There should be someone in here I know it." _Arme looked around the room and towards the ceiling trying to find someone. _"If only I could open my senses to the energy flow I could find them."_

"You're just a little fool aren't you Arme?" Arme spun around towards the voice but couldn't find anyone. "I can't believe that you've been fighting Kaze'aze this long and you're still alive."

"I recognize that voice." Arme yelled to the emptiness, "Elena why don't you just come out and Fight me!" over in a corner of the room a young woman with light blue hair and violet eyes appeared out of thin air.

"Hello Arme, it's been some time."

"Elena... why did you join Kaze'aze, why are you going against Master Urashin? Don't you remember what he did for you?"

Elena laughed, "What he did for me? Do you know the real reason he pulled those strings and got me that position in the guild? It's because a master is limited to only one apprentice. He did that just so he could get rid of me and teach you!"

"Elena! Master Urashin did all that for you because he believed in you and knew that you were ready!"

"Don't speak about thing you have no ability to understand! He got rid of me because he was scared. He knew that I was greater than you, greater than him. He didn't want to teach me because he knew that I was truly a perfect being."

"There you go again, believing that you're some gift to the world."

"There you go again, believing that I'm not. Master Urashin was scared that a perfect being like me would become better than him. He was the best and he didn't want to lose that, so he got rid of me."

"Elena, Master Urashin wasn't like that and you know it. If he still had the ability to teach you more than he would never give up. But you had reached the limit of what you could learn from him and he had to release you to learn for yourself."

"How could you know any of that!"

"When he first started teaching me I asked him why he would choose to train someone like me over you! That's the answer he gave me. He also told me that you wouldn't understand and that we would be enemies within the guild. I can't believe that now we're enemies in this war as well."

"Arme, you foolish little girl. Do you really think your magic could possibly beat my own."

Arme's wand appeared in her hand. "I have serious doubts, but I can't allow you to disgrace his name like this!"

Elena waved her hand in front of her face and her own wand appeared before her. "You really love that bastard, don't you. You're so foolish, throwing away your life just because you don't want your master's name disgraced. Give me a moment would you. I'll deactivate the aura, don't want you going berserk on me. If you did then you wouldn't be able to feel any pain." Arme waited patiently as Elena spun her wand around and the aura around the keep disappeared. "Well then, you can take the first spell."

"Elena, I will take you down!" Arme swung her wand, throwing wind blades towards Elena. Elena put her hand up in front of her and the wind blades glanced off.

Elena laughed hysterically, "To think you're actually trying to fight me with such a weak spell. Try this one." Elena raised her wand into the air and a slew of lightning bolts jumped from her wand to the ground. Arme rolled to avoid them, immediately releasing a fireball from her wand.

Elena raised her hand and the fireball glanced off it just like the wind blades. Elena shook her head, "Arme, you'll never stand a chance if you don't use some stronger spells. Oh wait, you can't use those strong spells without exhausting yourself, can you?" Elena started laughing hysterically again. "Let me show you a real fireball!" Elena raised her wand and hot energy began to form at the end. She slowly rose into the air as the heat formed up into a giant ball of fire. "Megido Flame!" She yelled as she released the giant ball of flame, throwing it towards Arme.

Arme was frozen in place as the giant flame fell towards her. It approached her coming closer and closer. Just before impact Arme felt someone grab her by the waist and she felt her feet leave the ground. The flame exploded into the wall leaving a gaping hole into the next room. Arme looked up to see Ronan holding her.

"Ronan?" She asked slowly, as she regained her awareness.

"Don't worry Arme, you're safe." Arme looked up to see Ryan, Elesis and Amy lined up in front of Elena, weapons drawn. "We got here just in time, it would've been bad if we lost you." Arme released herself from Ronan's grip and stepped forward.

"Wait everyone," Amy, Elesis and Ryan turned to her. "Please stand back, I have to be the one to fight her."

"Is this Urashin's first apprentice?" Elesis asked. Arme nodded. "Alright, Ryan, Amy stand back! This is Arme's fight." Ryan and Amy nodded reluctantly and stepped behind Arme.

"Can she really do it?" Amy asked.

"Believe in her." Ronan responded. "She will do it, if it must be done." Amy looked unsure but stood and watched without another word.

"Wow Arme, you really are stupid! With your friends you may have actually stood a chance. Not much of one of course, no matter how many people come together, it still isn't easy to defeat a perfect being."

"Elena. I pity you." Arme spoke confidently and a faint purple light began glowing beneath her shirt.

"You? Pity me?" Elena was furious. "How can someone as weak as you pity me."

"You fight with people who don't care about you Elena. If you were in trouble they wouldn't risk their lives to save you. If you were in my position back there, you would be dead."

"It doesn't matter if you survived a hit. You'll still die all the same and this time your friends will go with you." Elena lifted her wand into the air again and lightning began to form at the tip. "Riot storm!" Elena screamed as the lightning ran towards Arme.

"Elena, I won't let them die!" Arme screamed as she attempted to prepare a spell. The purple light in her shirt began glowing very brightly, Arme was so absorbed that she didn't notice it's glow. In less than a second, the brightness grew to a ridiculous level and Arme's eyes fell black.

* * *

Arme's eyes shot open. She looked around to see nothing. She was in a place with no walls, no ground, just white light for miles. "Where am I?" She asked herself. "What happened with Elena?"

"Don't worry young warrior." A voice told her from behind. Arme spun around and saw a young, beautiful woman with long brown hair. In her hands she held a cauldron. "Welcome to your mind, Miss Arme."

"My mind?"

"Yes, we are in a segment of your mind."

"So then who are you? why are you in my mind?

"I am Karina, alchemist of Kanavan."

"Karina... You're the hero that was within the seal."

Karina nodded. "I have been watching you from the moment you touched the seal. I have been waiting for you to become worthy of this power."

"Then the reason I'm here is because..."

Karina nodded, "You're resolve to protect your friends while still holding the dignity of your master. I remember my own master, she was a great women, I admired her greatly. I could never allow someone to insult her name no matter who they were. At the same time I would never allow anyone to harm my companions, my friends. Miss Arme I approve of you using my power." Karina reached into the front of her shirt pulling out a small gold necklace and placing it around Arme's neck. "The weapon that you currently hold is one blessed by the gods, it will change it's shape along with you and as long as you wear that necklace you will understand how to use your new powers. Good luck, miss Arme, protect everyone in my place."

"I will, but what will you do?"

"I will stay here for a little while longer. We kanavanian warriors agreed that we would not move on until all of us were ready."

"I see. I'll fight hard to make it happen."

"Thank you, Miss Arme. Now close your eyes and be ready to use your new powers to protect your companions."

Arme closed her eyes and she felt a gentle power form around her.

* * *

Arme's eyes shot open. Her hand immediately flew to the lid of the cauldron she was now holding, pulling it off. She held the cauldron steady as it sucked all of Elena's lightning into itself. As soon as all the lightning was consumed, she slammed the lid back on the cauldron. The cauldron began letting steam out of several slits on it's bottom.

Ronan, Ryan, Elesis and Amy all looked amazed. "What just happened?" Ryan asked.

"Where the hell did Arme get that?"

Arme lifted her hand into the air slightly and the seal appeared between her fingers. She threw it back to them. Ronan picked it up but it no longer had the illustration of Gaikoz on it, it was a blank piece of parchment. Arme turned her head slightly and winked at the team before returning her attention to Elena.

"I'm ready for you now Elena!" She yelled as she clutched the necklace in her palm.

"So what, you have a new weapon and you absorbed a weak spell. You don't scare me!"

"Oh trust me you should be scared." Arme said confidently as she knelt down and picked up a few rocks off the ground. She opened her cauldron and threw the rocks inside. She held the cauldron up and began transferring energy into it.

Elena lowered herself to the ground. "What are you doing?" She asked cautiously. Arme stopped sending energy into the cauldron, removed the lid and dumped a disgusting black goo onto the ground. The goo melted into the floor. "And just what did that accomplish?" Elena asked mockingly.

"Wanna find out?" Arme asked confidently as she snapped her fingers. The earth beneath Elena's feet began to shake. Elena flew into the air as several stone spires began to rise from the ground attempting to impale her. Elena flew back towards the wall. Arme smirked as she snapped her fingers and the stone spires began to shoot out of the walls. Elena dove down to avoid them. She immediately flew to the very center of the room where Arme's spires couldn't touch her. She lifted her wand up and shot a barrage of icicles towards Arme. Arme ripped the lid of her cauldron and sucked the icicles into it. The steam coming out of the slits increased.

"Just what is this new power of yours?"

Arme giggled, "I learned it just for you." Arme mocked, "I guess it would actually be more accurate to say I only managed to learn it because of you. You have my thanks."

Elena got more and more angry. "Fine then let's see if you can suck this one up!" She charged heat energy into her wand again. It grew and gathered at the tip until it had created an enormous fireball. Megido Flame!" Elena yelled as she hurled the fire at Arme. Arme opened the lid of her cauldron and held it steady to absorb the fire. The flame hit the mouth of the cauldron and began dispersing in all directions as it flew into the cauldron. The fire was slowly being absorbed into the cauldron and Arme was being pushed back by the intense energy. Finally the flame fully disappeared into the cauldron and all that was left were the smoldering embers that had been dispersed as the small cauldron attempted to suck up the enormous fireball. The steam coming out of the cauldron's slits increased to a feverish amount and it began squealing at a high pitch.

"Looks like the cauldron's full." Arme commented. "now then let's see how you like your own magic." Arme opened the cauldron and the lightning that it had first sucked up shot out at Elena. Elena flew downwards to avoid the lightning as it charges the ceiling. Arme quickly lined herself up with Elena's new position and the icicles flew out attempting to hit her. Not thinking, Elena flew into the corner in order to avoid the icicles. Elena looked around to try and find Arme but she couldn't see her. Suddenly Elena felt hot. She looked up to see a giant stream of fire flying towards her. She tried to dodge but there was nowhere she could go.

"NO!" Elena yelled, "I am perfect, I can't die to someone like Arme!" The flames engulfed Elena. After the flames had dissipated there was nothing left of Elena. Ronan and the others ran up to Arme.

"Arme what was all that?" Ronan asked amazed.

"Karina's power." Arme responded happily. "She accepted me and now I have the power that was within that seal.

"Well if that's the power hidden within these things then I think we'll be alright!" Amy exclaimed.

Arme scowled, "Please tell me what she's doing here." Amy pulled her seal out and showed it to Arme. Arme started twitching and scowled some more.

"Ah come on Arme, she isn't that bad." Ryan defended Amy.

Elesis was celebrating with the others when she realized something. "Ronan do you know where Lire is?"

Ronan slapped his forehead. "That's right Lire's in the library, we have to go back and get her before we leave." Everyone nodded and began to leave the room. Ronan spun around extremely serious. "Everyone roll!" He yelled as he grabbed Arme and dove to the side. Elesis also dove while Ryan grabbed Amy and dove. Just as they all dove a large and extremely fast orb of darkness flew towards them, smashing the wall. Arme pushed out of Ronan's hold (Despite how much she was enjoying it) And stood facing the wall where Elena had been hit. Instead of Elena there was a purple demon standing in her place. the Demon's head looked a lot like Elena's hair and in her hands were two large, purple chakrams. both of the chakrams had several magical orbs embedded in them.

The demon smiled and laughed. "I am Kamiki!" She said boastfully as the other warriors stood up. "Well Arme, how do you like my new form?"

* * *

There's the latest chapter and yes I know that the alchemist is drastically changed from how she was in the game and all I can say about it is, Get over it. (If you have problems that is I really don't think that most of you will)

As always review and have a nice day.


	16. Abastoth's succesor

Well here's the next chapter. This one took a bloody long time because I uploaded the last one just before final exams. Then after final exams I had to get ready for graduation and after that I had to entertain relatives for a couple of weeks and there was just no time to write but it's here now so Enjoy.

* * *

Arme opened her cauldron and tried to shoot the last of Elena's magic at Kamiki. Kamiki knocked it away easily. Arme stumbled backwards, running into Ronan.

"You gonna be ok?" He asked her.

Arme nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine." Arme turned to the other warriors. "My opponent was Elena and that's not Elena!" She yelled pointing at Kamiki. "Everyone give me a hand here." Everyone smiled and drew their weapons.

Kamiki laughed, "You won't win no matter what you do!" Kamiki raised one of her chakrams and aimed it forward. Flames began to form on her arm. Once the flame had reached a certain point she launched it at Arme. Arme quickly ripped the lid of off her cauldron. The flame hit the cauldron and began to be absorbed. After almost no time the flame pushed past the opening of the cauldron and blew Arme away. Arme staggered to her feet.

"What just happened?" Ronan asked, dumbfounded.

"It's to fast," Arme responded. "Her old spells were stronger but slower. At the speed she launches her spells I can't absorb them before they get to me, even if I do slow them down."

"Let me take a shot!" Ryan said enthusiastically. He charged Kamiki, jumping in the air and bring his axe down hard. Kamiki raised her chakram, blocking Ryan's attack easily, knocking him away. Ryan charged again grinding his axe with her chakram and holding it in place. A small smile crept across Ryan's face. Kamiki quickly turned and blocked Elesis' attack from behind grinding their weapons together. Elesis smiled just like Ryan. From out of nowhere a chakram came flying and hit Kamiki in the back of her head, knocking her foreward and breaking her lock of Elesis and Ryan's weapons. Ryan and Elesis immediately moved their weapons into position and smashed them into Kamiki. Kamiki flew and hit the wall destroying it and flying outside of the keep.

Kamiki stood and laughed as Ryan and Elesis followed her outside. "Fools my skin is much harder than it was when I was a human. You won't be able to beat me that easily."

"How well would a wolf fare?" Ryan asked.

Kamiki laughed hysterically, "I know for a fact that you have absolutely no control over your curse. You're just making empty threats." Ryan took a step back. "Damn, she called it."

"It's ok Ryan, we just have to keep hitting her." Elesis told him. He nodded.

"I'm here to!" Amy said as she joined the two."

"I'll go left. Ryan go right. You're good at jumping so attack from the air Amy."

"Right, split!" Ryan yelled as the three warriors split up to start attacking Kamiki.

"You think they can do it?" Ronan asked as he brought Arme the glass and grass she had asked for.

"All I know is we have to get back out there and help." Arme told him as she threw the items into her cauldron and started sending energy into it. She finished after a short time and reached in pulling out a bottle of green liquid. She quickly poured it onto her burned leg and arm, they healed almost instantly. Ronan's mouth fell open.

"Don't be so amazed those wounds will be back in about an hour." Arme told him. "Now let's go!"She jumped up and ran out to the battlefield. Ronan followed.

Ronan charged out overtaking Arme and swinging his sword at Kamiki. Kamiki blocked, knocking Ronan away just as Ryan come from behind her with his axe in full swing. She spun quickly, just barely blocking his attack just as Elesis appeared hitting her in the back. She turned and hit Elesis, knocking her away. A chakram came flying from the air hitting Kamiki in the center of her forehead just as Ronan shot lightning at her from his sword. The chakram knocked Kamiki off balance preventing her from blocking the thunder. While she was being shocked Ryan and Elesis came from either side and smashed her with their weapons. Kamiki went flying back again, planting herself into the ground. She struggled to her feet.

"Enough of this!" She yelled angrily. She held her palm out and released a wave of energy that sent everyone flying back towards Arme. "Let's see how you like my magic!" She held both her palms open and began releasing fireballs, thunderbolts, dark spheres and other types of magic in rapid succesion. Arme threw her palm forward causing a giant wall of magically guarded stone to rise before the group. "That won't be able to hold forever no matter how powerful you've made it!" Kamiki yelled at them.

"She's right." Arme told them, "I used a lot of stone and other hard minerals I could find but it won't hold long."

"What should we do?" Elesis asked, "going out there is suicide."

Suddenly the magic stopped. Arme created a small hole in the stone and looked out to see Kamiki's back turned towards them. Out in the field, past Kamiki, was Lire.

"Yet another fool wanders into my sight." Kamiki said slowly.

Lire raised her bow, which already had an arrow notched, and aimed at Kamiki. "We won't lose to you."

Kamiki laughed. "You think that a little arrow can kill me?"

Lire shook her head, "Of course not, but I don't fight alone."

Kamiki faced her palm behind her releasing a large wave of energy towards the rest of the group. Arme immediately closed the holes they had been looking out of and ducked. The top of the stone wall blew off and flew behind them. "So you think that I can't take you six on? How utterly absurd."

"Fine then I'll just have to hold you still."

"Oh? Do you have enough power to force my attention?"

"I haven't used it in awhile but I can try." Lire grabbed the arrow and pulled the bowstring back. She closed her eyes and let her energy flow without her direction. The arrow began to glow. she raised her bow and opened her eyes. "I suggest dodging this, if you value your life." Lire released the stream of green energy. Kamiki threw her palm forward. The energy hit Kamiki and dissipated almost immediately. Kamiki stood unharmed and smiled.

"Pathetic."

Lire staggered back as Kamiki moved towards her. Kamiki placed one of her arms behind her towards the other warriors.

"Dammit she's going to attack as soon as we move from what's left of my shield but if we don't then Lire's gonna be killed. Which of us is the fastest!"Elesis, Ryan and Ronan all pointed at Amy. "Ronan, do you have any barrier magic?"

"It's not very strong but..."

"That's fine!" Arme quickly picked up a piece of her stone shield and threw a piece of glass that she had kept with her into her cauldron. She also threw in grass, regular stone, dirt and several other things.

"What the hell is all that supposed to make?" Ryan asked seeming somewhat sick.

"No time to explain. Quick Ronan, create a small barrier and put it in here. "Ronan did as he was told. Arme began channeling her energy into the cauldron. As soon as she was done she ripped of the lid off and pulled out a bottle of black liquid, handing it to Amy. "Drink it" Amy shook her head. "Come on Amy."

Amy shook her head again. "What the hell is this stuff gonna do to me?"

"It'll create a barrier around you for a very short time so that you can go and distract Kamiki long enough for the rest of us to get out there!" Arme said quickly. "Now Hurry or Lire's gonna die." Amy reluctantly moved the mixture towards her mouth. The moment it touched her lips her face became pale. "Don't spit it out!" Arme ordered. Amy miraculously finished the potion and, by Arme's order, charged out towards Kamiki. Kamiki's head turned and she launched an orb of darkness towards Amy. The orb glanced off the shield. Kamiki looked confused and immediately shot 3 more spells in quick succession. They glanced of the shield as well. Amy jumped into the air above Kamiki and threw her Chakram down at her. Kamiki blocked the attack with her own chakram and threw hers up at Amy. The Chakram glanced off Amy's shield. Ryan came from out of nowhere and swung his axe down on Kamiki. She dodged and was immediately attacked by Elesis. Kamiki barely blocked Elesis' attack with her chakram and knocked Elesis away just as Ronan fired a thunderbolt at her. Kamiki was hit. She regained herself quickly and jumped back only to be hit in the back by three arrows. She turned to see Lire standing there with arrows notched and aimed at her. Kamiki looked around to see she was surrounded by the four warriors.

Kamiki began to giggle, "Do you earnestly believe you've beaten me?" She asked.

Arme's voice came from behind Ronan, "You've lost Kamiki!" As she said this a bomb fell from the sky landing right next to Kamiki. It exploded. When the smoke cleared Kamiki was severely injured and the warriors watched as four more bombs fell right next to Kamiki. Kamiki tried to move away but the bombs exploded more quickly than her injuries allowed her to move. The smoke cleared once again to reveal Kamiki attempting to cast a spell. Ryan shook his head, ran forward and brought his axe down on Kamiki's head, finishing her.

Arme walked forward and knelt down next to Kamiki. "You lost Elena," She said in a sad voice.

Ronan stepped forward and put his arm around Arme's shoulder, "What's wrong Arme?"

"She was kinda like a big sister to me. We always fought but I thought that when it really came to it we were there for each other. I guess I was wrong and now all I can think about is how many other members of the Violet mage guild are working for Kaze'aze." Arme wrapped her arms around Ronan and started crying into his chest. Ronan hugged Arme tightly.

Over to the side Lire, Amy, Elesis and Ryan watched the moment unfold.

Elesis shrugged, "I seriously don't get what anyone could see in that loser."

Lire and Amy both hit Elesis in the back of the head. "Just be quiet and be happy for Arme."

"Yes ma'am."

After Arme had calmed down the group headed back towards town.

"Lire?" Ryan asked, "You showed up late so where were you?"

"In the Library." Lire responded.

"Why?"

"I was reading."

"You were reading while we were fighting?"

Lire nodded, "And I found exactly what I was looking for to."

"What's that?" Ronan asked.

Lire reached into her bag and pulled out an old book. The title on the book read "Curses and Anti-Curses".

"Curses and Anti-Curses?" Arme asked. "Why were you looking for that?"

Lire showed them that she had used a piece of cloth as a bookmark and opened to the marked page. "It's this page right here."

Ronan looked over her shoulder, "The "Dark Possession spell" What about it."

Lire started reading over some of the symptoms, "Blank, white eyes, loss of possessed voice, as the possessed gets weaker so does the spell. Sound familiar?"

Arme's eyes widened, "Wait you don't mean that this is the spell Kaze'aze is using?"

Lire nodded, "That's right and this book details a way to dispel it as well."

"How do we do that?" Ronan asked excited.

It's a potion that we have to dump on him. But the biggest problem is that it takes weeks to brew the potion after we get the ingredients."

"No problem." Arme said confidently as she held up her cauldron. "Just leave the brewing to me and Ill have it done way faster than that."

"So what are the ingredients?" Ronan asked.

Lire flipped through a couple pages. "Most of the ingredients can be bought at the market but there are two that will be a bit more difficult. The first is an orc tooth. This one will be difficult since we wiped out all the orcs already."

"What about Agano?" Ryan asked.

Lire shot a look at Ryan, "Who?"

"You know that intelligent orc that Arme and Elesis fought in the orc temple."

"Have you seen him recently!"

"He's working for Kaze'aze," Elesis told her sadly.

"I see, well at least that means he'll come after us so we'll be able to get his tooth."

"What's the other tough ingredient?"

"Oh right, I have no idea what this is but it says Gardosen's Marble."

Arme looked scared, "Did you just say Gardosen?" Lire nodded, "Gardosen is the lord of Hell and a marble refers to his soul."

"What? then how did they know that it was an ingredient if it was his soul, they'd never be able to get another one."

Arme shook her head. "Gardosen creates a new soul a couple days after his soul is taken, he's an immortal monster that lives here on Ellia continent."

"I thought you said that he was the lord of Hell?"

Arme nodded. "That's right. a long time ago the founders of the violet mage guild created a barrier around the bridge to Hell, which exists on this continent, to keep Gardosen out of our world. Humans can move through the barrier at will but Gardosen and other demons of Hell can never pass the bridge."

"So we have to kill him and take his soul?" Arme nodded, "Well doesn't that sound like fun."

Lire closed the book and put it back in her bag, "Let's start by getting back to town and we can figure out what to do after that."

Ronan nodded in agreement.

After a long walk back to town the warriors all gathered at the pub along with Mr. Lirios and Emil.

"So it was Elena?" Mr. Lirios asked sounding dissapointed. Arme nodded. "I can't believe it. That last time I saw her she was a sweet little girl who would never hurt a fly."

"The last time you saw her was when she was ten." Arme pointed out.

Mr. Lirios nodded, "You're right of course but I still find it hard to believe."

"Yeah I know what you mean." Arme replied.

At the next table over, Emil was looking over the list of ingredients in the book. "The Orc tooth and Gardosen's marble are up to you but I'll get you everything else that you need." Emil told them.

Lire smiled, "Thank you."

"The next questions are how long will it take for us to run into Agano and whether we should go after the marble now or later." Ronan told them.

"I agree, I know it may be dangerous but I think we should split the team up." Elesis offered.

Ronan nodded, "I think that may be best. We can have a couple stay here to fight Agano when he comes and the others can go to get the marble."

"No." Emil interrupted, "I'm not some old man, I can fight and so can Greil you kids just leave Orinig to us. If that orc shows up we'll do our best to get that Orc tooth for ya but I can't make promises."

"I'm not so sure," Ronan muttered. Suddenly there was a big crash outside. Everyone ran out of the pub to find Agano in the middle of town with a giant Black Gorgos.

"Warriors of the Grand Chase!" Agano bellowed, "Come out and fight me now!" The group ran out of the pub to face Agano. "So I see you have increased your numbers, but no matter. You stand no chance against my new weapon and mount." The Black Gorgos reared its head and screeched.

"Another Gorgos?" Ryan questioned

Agano laughed. "This is the same Gorgos you killed the other day. He has been infused with more energy and revived as the mighty Black Gorgos!"

"How many times is that thing gonna power up?" Arme asked. "It'll reach a point where we can't beat it anymore if this keeps up."

"You guys take the Gorgos." Elesis told them, "I want Agano."

"Elesis are you sure?" Arme asked.

Elesis nodded. "I promised that if we ever stood on opposite sides again then I'd strike him down and I don't break promises.

Agano shook his head. "Very well then. Meet me at the outskirts of town in one hour. There is no need to cause the townspeople to shed blood." With that Agano got on the Gorgos and they left.

"One hour, Agano." Elesis muttered under her breath. "In one hour I'll keep my promise."

Ronan put his hand on Elesis' shoulder. "Be careful Elesis, he's not weak."

Elesis nodded, "I know that better than you idiot. I'm going to take him down."

"Then let's rest until it's time."

Elesis agreed and went into the pub. The group sat and ate a little food to make sure they had the energy to fight. One hour later they all stood at the outskirts of town waiting for Agano. Agano dropped down in front of them on his mount. He quickly dismounted and pulled out a new sword. "Don't think that you can beat me now that I have this new weapon, Elesis." Agano told her as he jumped away from his mount. Elesis followed him. The other five warriors readied their weapons to fight the Gorgos.

"Agano I have to ask one more time, why are you working for Kaze'aze? you said that you didn't agree with her."

"Perhaps not but fighting for something you don't believe in is a small price to pay for your life."

"I can't believe you Agano. I can't believe you'd work for someone who tortures people like she does."

"She gave me the power to live and so I will repay her by doing whatever she wants."

"Why? Agano, the first time we fought I felt a connection to you. You were a good person and an excellent swordsman, you even taught me how true strength could be achieved and now... I'm going to take you down Agano."

"Before we begin please tell me. What is the reason you finally found to fight? What made you so strong?"

"I found something that I never knew much about before. This may sound corny but it's friendship. When I grew up I lived with my god brother in the Erudon estate. We were of a very high class and we were isolated from the other children. The closest thing I ever knew to friendship was the rivalry I had with Ronan. In the end I started using a sword only because I wanted to be as strong as my father, that was my reason to fight. My weak reason. But after our fight I watched Lire fight the Orc lord. The amount of power that she pulled out of nowhere was amazing and it was all because of her love for her family. That's when I finally understood your words and understood that I actually cared about Lire and Arme. I decided that I would go alone, to protect them and I hoped that it would make me stronger but it didn't. I remained my weak self until I met Ryan and heard his story. That's when I finally understood everything, I understood that to be powerful I needed my friends with me because they gave me the strength I needed. So here we are now. I promised that if you ever stood in my way again then I would strike you down. I let you go last time in hopes that you would be able to live happily without having to fight. But that was the only chance I gave you and you wasted it this time I'm taking you down."

"Very well then, Elesis. Come at me."

Elesis immediately pushed forward swinging her sword at Agano. He blocked with his sword and pushed her back. He pushed off his legs immediately and flew towards Elesis smashing her sword with his own. Elesis was forced to the ground. Elesis rolled backwards and stood to her feet as Agano charged her again with his sword above his head. He swung down and Elesis dodged. Elesis jumped swinging her sword towards Agano's undefended side. She grazed him as he jumped backwards to avoid the attack. Agano looked at his side. He smirked

"You landed a light blow. Congratulations."

"Stop mocking me."

"You're right I guess it's time for me to show my real capabilities." Agano held his sword up for Elesis to see as he turned the hilt. suddenly the sword split apart and Agano immediately swung it like a whip. Elesis jumped back barely avoiding the blade.

"What the hell is that?"

"This is my weapon. I did not bring it with me last time but it is quite powerful I assure you."

"I can see that but it's just unbelievable."

"Good luck attacking me now. While it takes time for me to prepare a strike you may be able to get close but you will not be able to make an attack."

"We'll see about that!" Elesis yelled as she charged Agano. Agano whipped his sword around him as he prepared to attack Elesis. Just as Elesis got within strike range she had to retreat to avoid the sword. "My reach just isn't long enough." she muttered to herself. "I have to figure out a way to distract him long enough to launch my attack."

"Elesis." Agano said disappointed. "I suggest you figure out a way to attack me or else I will have no choice but to destroy the town."

"What!"

"My orders were to face the members of the GrandChase and then destroy Orinig. But I can't destroy the town if I've lost now can I?"

"Why are you telling me this!" Agano said nothing and whipped his sword at Elesis again. Tears started to form in Elesis' eyes. "Why Agano what do you think your doing?" Elesis was so upset that she didn't notice the bright red glow from underneath her armor but Agano did. Agano smiled at the glow.

"I tell you this because I want you to regret it when you die. I can't let you see the lives of the townspeople and of your friends disappear so I decided that I'd let you know what will happen!"

"My friends." Elesis said surprised. "NO!" the glowing light grew to a feverish level and enveloped Elesis.

* * *

Elesis opened her eyes. She was in a place was completely white. There was nothing and no one the but her. She took a few steps forward trying to find something, anything.

"What's going on, where am I?" She asked herself.

"This is your mind." A gentle voice told her from behind. Elesis spun around to find a tall, blonde man in silver armor with a long spear strapped to his back. "Heya, Names Abastoth but I guess you already knew that."

"Abastoth? You mean the Kanavanian hero who defeated Gaikoz?"

"That's me, Not that I did it alone or anything." He said while shrugging. "Anyways we're in a small corner of your mind where I've existed since you touched that seal."

"You've been here all this time."

Abastoth nodded, "Sure have. I've been waiting for you to show me that you're worthy of this." He told her as he held his lance forward. "I wanted you to show me that you were worthy of being a lancer."

"And I've proven that?"

Abastoth nodded. "When I was still alive I couldn't condone those who would torture people with words or harm innocents for no reason. Above all else I could not stand those who would attempt to harm my friends. You've shown me your willingness to protect those around you and a heart which cares for your friends. And so I accept you Elesis to be my succesor."

Elesis bowed to Abastoth. "Thank you I won't let you down, I promise."

Abastoth nodded happily as he threw a ball of energy towards Elesis' sword. The sword began to glow and reshaped it self into a lance. "You gotta love weapons that have been blessed, they're just so damn convenient." Abastoth said jokingly. "Well I'm gonna hang out here for awhile, I gotta wait for the other five heroes to accept you guys, because we're all leaving together. Well now that you've been accepted I should be able to jump around to the minds of the others who have been accepted, maybe I'll go see Karina."

"I'm right here." Karina said as she appeared next to Abastoth.

Abastoth jumped back blushing. "H-hey Karina, don't do that please." Abastoth then walked over to Elesis and pulled her aside, he looked back to make sure Karina wasn't listening. "Listen kid, find someone you can love. Trust me it'll make you several times stronger." Abastoth told her as he looked back to Karina blushing. Elesis giggled at Abastoth's loss of composure. He stood back up and in a loud voice said, "Now then Elesis, get out there and use your lance to defend everyone. Don't worry about learning it, you're my succesor you'll understand what to do," he said as he pulled a stud out of his right ear and put it in Elesis'. "Consider yourself lucky, that didn't hurt because you're in here but usually piercing an ear stings like hell. NOW GO!" He yelled as Elesis blacked out.

* * *

Elesis opened her eyes and she was once again standing before Agano who was holding his whip like sword ready. Elesis gripped her new lance and reached up to feel the stud in her ear. Elesis smirked at Agano who looked dumbfounded. How? You were just holding a sword!" He yelled.

"I hope your ready Agano. ready to face my new abilities."

Agano hid a small smile and immediately returned his face to a scowl. He whipped hos sword a Elesis who knocked it away with her lance. She charged Agano holding her lance behind her back. Agano began to prepare his sword for an attack again. As Elesis approached Agano she started to spin her lance around her body and caught Agano's sword with the edge of her lance. She hit the hilt of Agano's sword with the end of her lance and threw it away. Agano stumbled backwards and began fumbling threw his clothing. He pulled out the seals he had used last time but Elesis knocked them all out of his hand scattering them on the field. Elesis held her spear to Agano's chest.

"What was that about destroying the town and making me regret losing?" Agano slowly crawled backwards, and Elesis followed keeping her spear to his chest.

"I'm sorry," Agano apologized. Elesiss smirked and lowered her spear slightly, "Sorry that I have to cut our match short!" Agano yelled as the Gorgos attacked Elesis from behind. Elesis spun and tried to defend with her lance but she was thrown away. The other warriors ran up next to Elesis with their weapons drawn.

Elesis reached up to her right ear and felt the stud in it. "_I won't fail you Abastoth, I"ll prove that I was a proper choice for your successor_." Elesis charged forward to attack Agano but the Gorgos blocked with it's claw. Agano mounted the Gorgos quickly

He smirked at them, "I'm really not what you should be focusing on right now." He told them as an incredibly loud roar shook the air. "The troops that we sent to the fire temple have succeeded in awakening and enraging the Basilisk. I suggest you go and defeat him before he fully awakens and destroys this entire continent."

Agano and the Gorgos then fled leaving his sword behind. Elesis stood back up and gripped her spear. "I'm sorry." She said to the air.

Suddenly Elesis noticed that Ryan was next to her eyeing her spear. Elesis turned to them, "Same thing that happened to Arme." She told them with a smile.

Ronan smiled at her. "Congratulations Elesis."

" No time for that right now, we need to figure out our next move." She pointed in the direction Agano had fled. "Agano ran that way," She then pointed in the exact opposite direction, "Kaze'aze's castle is that way. On top of it all I wasn't able to get one of his teeth so we have to go after him."

"And on top of that we also need to defeat this Basilisk in the temple of fire before his power awakens to much." Arme chimed in.

"Ok let's return to the pub first." Lire suggested, "We should rest and think things threw before we make any hasty decisions."

The warriors returned to the pub where Mr. Lirios pulled out a map of the continent. Emil took the map and laid it out on the table. Emil pointed at a town on the map. "This is Orinig." He let his finger slide to a large forest, "This is the Avatar's forest, the place where Agano most likely fled to." He slid his finger to a temple that was on the map. "This is the Temple of Fire where the Basilisk is." Finally he slid his finger up to the top right corner of the continent which was a blacked out spot. "This is where Hell Bridge is."

Ronan was watching while rubbing his chin. "So we have to go to these four places soon. Kaze'aze's power is increasing and she has to be defeated soon. We'll need the potion to get into Kaz'eaze's castle so we need to send someone to the forest to collect a tooth from Agano."

"Leave that to me," Ryan told them, "I know that Elesis wants to be the one to beat Agano but she's one of our strongest now and we need her in the more dangerous places. Plus the forest is my terrirtory." Ronan nodded in agreement.

"I agree that we should send Ryan after Agano. At the same time I'm worried that Ryan could miss Agano on his way and so I feel that one of us should stay in Orinig just incase."

"I'm going to Hell Bridge!" Lire said forcefully. "I'm going to get the marble for the potion if it's the last thing I do."

"Then I'll go with her." Elesis decided. "If I'm not the one to defeat Agano then I want to be as far away from him as possible when it happens."

"Then I guess I'll go to calm the Basilisk." Arme offered.

Ronan nodded, "Take Amy with you." Arme scowled. "I'll stay and defend the town from attacks. As soon as you're done with your missions return here. I'm not sure exactly how long me, Emil and Mr. Lirios will be able to handle things. We're all tired right now so eat and go to bed, make sure you're rested so you can set out in the morning."

Everyone nodded in agreement over the plan. Arme wasn't exactly happy about her partner but everyone shrugged off her objections. That night everyone was restless and had trouble sleeping. They thought carefully about the importance of their missions and about how little time they had left.

* * *

Well there we go, the next chapter to come will be either the temple of fire or the Avatar's forest (Yes it is a made up area). I promise that the chapters will come faster now that I don't have a house filled with 20 people. Well review and have a nice day.


	17. The Nephilim's forest

Well here it is the Avatar's forest chapter. It took me quite a while to get down what with University applications and work eating at my schedule but I'm trying to get stuff done as quickly as I can.

Enjoy

* * *

Ryan sat on the roof of the inn and watched as the rising sun painted the sky a gorgeous crimson. Morning had come all to early for the young elf. He had heard of the Avatar's forest before, every druid had. A forest that is home to the Nephilim, the powerful avatar of nature. When a druid is believed to be worthy he is sent to the Avatars forest where he must receive the Nephilim's blessing in order to attain the right to wield a mighty crescent blade and unleash the true power of nature. Only then can they be granted the honorable title of Sentinel.

Ryan sighed "_I can't believe I have to head to the Nephilim's forest already_" He thought to himself, "_I killed my entire village, how could I possibly be worthy of going there? But Agano is no more worthy than me and even if the Nephilim decides to punish me for my insolence I will remove him from our sacred testing ground._"

"Your up early." Ryan turned around to see Amy climbing up on the roof.

"Yeah..."

"What's wrong? Trouble Sleeping?"

"Nah. It's just that I'm heading out to the Avatar's forest soon. It's a sacred place to people from my discipline so I'm kinda nervous that I'll never be able to go back and receive the blessings if I go now."

"So switch with someone."

Ryan shook his head. "It's sacred. I'd rather give up my ability to receive the blessing than allow an outsider to go there. It's sacred, and that's why I have to get Agano out."

Amy stared at Ryan for a moment. "Wow, you have such a strong conviction. I admire that."

"Thanks."

"I have to go to the temple of Fire soon and, honestly, I'm really nervous."

Ryan wrapped his arm around Amy's shoulder, "I guess we're both heading out of here nervous. What I'm really worried about is Agano, Elesis couldn't beat him until she accepted the spear so I'm wondering how well I can do alone."

"Don't worry, Agano dropped his weapon before he left so he'll be a lot easier for you than he was for Elesis. If your really in trouble then just turn and run back to town."

"Yeah I guess your right." Ryan stood up. "Thanks for listening Amy. Be careful at the temple and don't forget that you have Arme with you if you're in trouble. Well tell the others goodbye when they wake up, I'm off." With that Ryan jumped off the roof turned and waved to Amy and ran off towards the avatar's forest. Amy waved as he ran into the sunrise.

The Avatar's forest was quite far away from the town. Ryan arrived several hours after setting out. He looked up at the enormous expanse of trees before him. It stretched for miles. Ryan sighed. "_I still can't believe that I'm entering the Avatar's forest so soon._" Ryan thought. He stepped forward, slowly and hesitantly. He took a deep breath and entered the forest. The trees in the forest were massive. They stretched so high that they completely blocked out the sun. Ryan didn't mind the dark forest, he was used to it. Ryan examined trees and the ground as he went looking for signs of Agano and him mount. As he was walking he found 5 trees lying on the ground along with about 10 burned stumps. "_This has to be the work of that Gorgos_." Ryan thought as he examined the trees. "_The stumps are still hot, They must be close_." Ryan started running through the trees following Agano and the Gorgos' trail. Finally he came upon the Orc and his mount. Agano had dismounted and was looking around, clearly confused.

"How the hell am I supposed to get out of here?" He muttered loudly. He turned to the Gorgos. "You don't know the way out by any chance?" He asked jokingly. The Gorgos lowered it's head in apology. Agano petted the head of the Gorgos, "It's alright, I have no idea either."

_"Idiot, He came in here without leaving some trail to get out. He's gonna pay for destroying the Forest all the same." _Ryan drew his axe and jumped out of his hiding place. "Agano!" He yelled, "I finally found you." Agano and the Gorgos' heads twirled to look at Ryan.

Agano smiled. "So you found me, what of it?"

"I can't believe you would destroy the Avatar's forest! This place is sacred to my people and now I have to punish you!"

Agano patted the Gorgos' head. "Sorry about that, this guy is just so big we couldn't help it." He apologized mockingly. Ryan jumped forward and swung his axe at Agano. Agano jumped back narrowly avoiding the strike. "Gorgos attack!" He yelled. The Gorgos lifted it's claw but when it tried to swing the claw got snagged in a tree branch. It struggled to free it's claw, to no avail. Ryan turned to Agano with a look of utter disbelief on his face. Agano looked at the struggling Gorgos with the same look. Agano shook his head, "Unbelievable." Agano ducked avoiding another swing of Ryan's axe. He jumped back and grabbed a tree that the Gorgos had knocked over. Agano held the tree as if he was holding a sword and got into a battle stance.

"Seriously? You're gonna fight me using a tree?" Ryan asked annoyed. Ryan charged forward with his axe dragging on the ground behind him. As he approached Agano he spun around creating a small wall of dust in front of him and swung through the dust. Agano blocked with the tree, which split and fell apart. Agano looked up to see that the Gorgos was still stuck on the branches.

"These are some strong trees." Agano commented. Ryan tried to attack Agano again but Agano jumped back and quickly jumped up to free the Gorgos from the branches. As soon as the Gorgos was free Agano mounted it and they ran off. Ryan gave chase. Ryan ran through the thick branches trying to catch up to Agano. Eventually Ryan stopped, out of breath. He quickly surveyed his surroundings to try and find something that could help him.

* * *

The Gorgos stopped, completely exhausted and Agano jumped off. Agano patted the Gorgos' head. "Good work." He praised the Gorgos. Agano quickly surveyed his surroundings looking for something he could use as a weapon.

"Looks like you're having trouble." A deep, yet gentle, voice said.

"Just a bit." Agano replied while looking everywhere. "I'm trying but I can't do much if I don't have a proper weapon to fight with."

The bodyless voice sighed. "Fine, fine I'll help you out." There was a glow of purple light near one of the stumps. After the light subsided a large steel sword was left stuck in the stump. "It's no whip sword but it should be fine for the job you need to do."

Agano walked to the stump and drew the sword. "Thanks. Well back to the job at hand." He said as he called his mount over."

"Just make sure you do it right. Remember it's a two part job so make sure you leave behind the item."

Agano rolled his eyes. "Yes sir." He said mockingly as he rode back toward Ryan.

* * *

Ryan was sitting down, leaning against a large stump. He stood up and took a swig of water from the canteen he had brought with him. "_I guess it's time for me to get back after Agano._" He thought. The bushes behind Ryan rustled. Ryan grabbed his axe and spun around. "Who's there!" He yelled. Nothing happened. Ryan slowly removed his eyes from the bushes and strapped his axe to his back. Just as he was about to start following Agano's trail he heard a sound behind him. He jumped forward just as a small, but powerful, energy ball smashed the ground behind him. He turned quickly drawing his axe once again. He looked up near a large tree to see a white Monster with orange and white wings, a golden helmet and Golden bracers around it's wrists and ankles. The monster had several tattoos over his white body as well as Orange hair which was braided in the front and held with two golden rings.

"_What is that thing?" _Ryan asked himself as he drew his weapon. The monster created another ball of energy and threw it at Ryan. Ryan rolled to avoid the shot. He immediately pivoted and shot himself towards the tree that the monster was hovering by. He jumped hitting the tree and pushing off to attack the monster. The monster avoided the attack and punched Ryan into the ground. Ryan staggered to his feet and glared at the monster. The monster glared back at Ryan. The monster created another orb of energy in it's hand and threw it at the ground. Ryan's injuries prevented him from avoiding the orb and it hit him square in the chest. Ryan went flying back and hit a tree. The monster descended to the ground and stepped towards Ryan. Ryan's head shot up and his eyes glowed yellow. The monster jumped back, surprised. Ryan howled to the sky and underwent his wolf transformation. Ryan immediately jumped off his hind legs and sunk his claws into the monsters arm, Dying it's white skin red. The monster punched Ryan off of it and threw and energy orb at him. Ryan slashed at the orb causing it to explode in front of his face. Ryan immediately jumped through the energy and slashed at the monsters chest. The monster staggered backwards and attempted to lift off the ground. Just before it was out of reach Ryan sunk his claw into the monsters legs and dragged it down to the ground. Ryan threw the monster on it's back and jumped on top of it continuously slashing at the monster. Suddenly, Ryan's eyes dimmed and he smashed his head into the ground and howled at the sky. However Ryan did not turn back into his elven form. He continued smashing his head into trees and the ground. Finally, after Several minutes of attacking himself Ryan returned to his elven form. He staggered to his feet breathing heavily and looked at his blood drenched hands.

"_Why did it take so long to change back?_" Ryan asked himself, "_And why didn't I pass out like I usually do?_" Ryan looked back at the monster lying on the blood soaked ground. It's White skin and Feather's had been dyed completely red. "_Did I do that?_" Ryan asked himself. Ryan looked around him to see that the trees had begun to become dry and we're becoming dryer at an alarming rate. "_What the hell is going on here!" _

"You killed that monster?" someone asked him from behind.

Ryan turned around to see Agano and the Gorgos behind him. Agano was holding a new sword that he didn't have before. "So what? I killed a monster, what's the problem."

"That is the Nephilim." Ryan's eyes grew wide and he staggered backwards, falling on the ground. Agano began looking around the forest at the trees. "Without the Nephilim, this forest will die." A sly smile crept across Agano's face. "Congratulations young warrior, You just destroyed one of the most important symbols of your discipline and doomed this forest.

Ryan sat up and grabbed his head. He stared at the ground with tears in his eyes. "Wh-What have I done?" He screamed at himself. "First I kill the entire elven village and now I kill nature itself. What have I done?" The trees around Ryan continue drying out and dying as he freaked out on the ground.

"I never could have expected that coming here would be so fruitful." Agano taunted Ryan. "You did much more than I ever could have done myself." Ryan's eyes narrowed into slits and an orange light began to appear under his shirt. "I thank you whole-heartedly." Agano bowed to Ryan.

"That's it!" Ryan yelled as he stood to his feet. "You wanted to destroy this place so badly but I won't allow it." Ryan crossed his arms over his chest and a colorless glow appeared around his arms.

"What are you going to do?"

"I will call upon the ultimate power taught to the druids before they become sentinels. I never fully mastered it and I'm not sure if I can do this right but I won't let you have your way." Agano's eyebrow raised slightly as the glow around Ryan's arms grew brighter and brighter. Ryan threw his arms apart and screamed, "Ressurrection!" The power flew wildly and a great white light engulfed everything.

* * *

Ryan's eyes shot open. He was lying in a place that was completely white and all his wounds were gone. "This looks like the place that Elesis described." Ryan muttered to himself. Ryan cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. "Hey ancient hero! If your there then come out and talk to me!"

"Sure, why not?" A gentle voice said from behind Ryan. Ryan spun to see an elven man holding a crescent blade. The man stuck his hand in front of Ryan. "Pleased to meet you." The young man said as Ryan took his hand and shook it. "Name's Celeion, the Sentinel."

"I'm Ryan."

Celeion scratched his head. "I know who you are but I don't know why you're here, I didn't accept you yet."

Ryan looked dumbfounded. You didn't? But then how did I get here."

Celeion shook his head. "I'm trying to figure that out myself."

"I called him!" A deep voice boomed. A single white and orange feather slowly fell and stopped in front of Ryan. It began to glow and then grew into the Nephilim. "I called him here."

Celeion dropped to his knee and bowed his head to the Nephilim. He reached up and pulled Ryan down to his knees. "It is a pleasure to see you again." Ryan remained silent and refused to look at the Nephilim's face.

"Stand and face me, Ryan." Ryan reluctantly stood up and looked into the Nephilim's eyes. "Worry not about what you have done, It was not your fault. I never could have expected that something like that could happen when I tested you."

Celeion looked confused. "What happened exactly?"

"I thought you could see everything that I do."

"Well normally I can but something odd happened a little while ago. Your mind suddenly became extremely violent and ferocious. I couldn't see anything."

"I guess that was the first time my curse ever took effect since I got the seal."

"Curse?"

"I transform into a wolf and go berserk. It happened just a little while ago and I... I-I killed the Nephilim."

Celeion's eyes grew wide and he reached for his weapon. The Nephilim threw his hand in front of Celeion. "Don't attack him it was not his fault. When I died I allowed my soul to flow into Ryan's body. I searched his mind and body and discovered what he was cursed with."

Ryan looked at the Nephilim. "How do I cure this curse!" he asked immediately.

"The only way to cure your curse is to kill the one who cursed you. The curse is almost complete and you have very little time left."

"The curse is... Complete?"

"The curse that has been placed upon you is a curse of control. When it completes itself, you will lose control of yourself completely and the one who cursed you will hold your reins. I believe that the one who cursed you gave you the wolf form as a side effect to make you more powerful."

"How long do I have to break it."

"I cannot say exactly but I know that your time is short."

"Damn, we have to hurry before I go permanently berserk."

"Ryan, I will grant you my power. By tapping into your curse I can give you the power to transform into me. It will also place me as an obstacle that the curse will need to break down before it can control you. Though I may lose myself to the curse as well I shall grant you power and extend the time you have." The Nephilim then looked at Celeion. "Give him the Crescent blade."

Celeion took a ring off his finger and placed it on Ryan's. "If the Nephilim has accepted you then you must be worthy of this. As long as you wear this ring then you will know how to use my weapon." Ryan's axe began to glow and it transformed into a crescent blade. "I want you to know something Ryan. I don't like you. I heard what you said about the village as well. I, personally, don't think you deserve to live but as long as master Nephilim accepts you then I will grant you strength."

"Now go Ryan and right what you have wronged." Ryan nodded to the Nephilim and wearily looked at Celeion.

"Celeion, I completely agree with you. But even if I deserve to die the people of this world don't. I am one of the only people who can make their lives safer and happier and so I will do all I can."

"Well then get going." Celeion raised his hand and Ryan passed out.

* * *

Ryan awoke in the forest. A lush green forest that had no signs of dying. Ryan stood to look at Agano and the Gorgos who were looking around completely dumbfounded.

Agano glared at Ryan. "What did you... How did you do this."

"I did this because I had to." Ryan said as he stood and drew his crescent blade. Agano stared at Ryan's new weapon, looking somewhat frightened.

"Gorgos attack!" Agano yelled as the Gorgos charged forward. Ryan raised his hands. The trees around him disappeared creating a clearing for them to fight in. A shield appeared around the edge of the clearing to prevent the Gorgos's fire from leaving.

"I will give you an area to attack in as long as the forest is unharmed."

"How the hell did you do that?"

"The Nephilim is dead but his soul rests within my body. At the same time I am the one who gave this forest life. I am the new master of the Avatar's forest."

"Gorgos, destroy him!" The Gorgos reared back it's head and spewed forth fire. Ryan avoided the fire easily, appearing behind the Gorgos. He stabbed it's tail with his blade. The Gorgos screeched in pain. Ryan appeared above the Gorgos's head almost immediately and smashed it's skull in, killing it instantly. Agano drew his blade and desperately tried to attack Ryan. Ryan slid backwards slightly avoiding the blade.

"There's somone who wishes to speak to you." Ryan told Agano as his body began to glow and reform itself. After only a few moments the Nephilim stood before Agano. Agano fell backwards.

The Nephilim said nothing and simply stared at Agano. It stood and raised it's hand removing the barrier. "Go now before I change my mind." The Nephilim said to him. "And never come near Ryan's forest ever again. Also, We'll need one of your teeth." Agano nodded frantically and reached into his mouth, ripping out one of his teeth. Holding his cheek, Agano left the clearing and was immediately transported to the edge of the forest. The Nephilim began to shrink and he reformed himself into Ryan.

Ryan snapped his fingers and the clearing was once again filled with trees. From within his head the Nephilim spoke to Ryan. "Ryan, you understand that if you die so to does this forest?"

"Of course." Ryan replied.

"And you also understand that if you leave this forest then your powers will dwindle to a small fraction of what they just were."

"Of course I understand that. This is my domain, here is where my power is at it's utmost. Even so I will leave and fight so that people who deserve to live can live happily."

"Ryan, you deserve to live. Don't give up your happiness."

"Well we'll see how the battle goes. Maybe I'll move in here and make sure it's safe after We've finished out there." With a sigh and one last glance around his new forest, Ryan snapped his fingers and he was once again at the edge of the forest. "We're coming back Ronan." Ryan said to himself as he gripped Agano's tooth. "It's almost time for the final battle."

* * *

And there's Ryan's chapter. Up next is Amy and Arme in the temple of Fire.

Review and have a nice day.


	18. The song of sealing

How long has it been, 4 months? sorry about that university is really kicking my ass but now that it's Christmas I've set a goal to write at least 3 more chapters before the break is over (I've already gone back and fixed up all the old chapters) and then try to put aside time to write while I'm going to school. Course at my university has like 4-5 months of summer break so maybe I can do it then. Well I've never been good at keeping my writing goals (Waiting for inspiration and all that) so we'll see how I do. also I hope that the people who were reading before haven't abandoned me but I completely understand if they have.

Enjoy

* * *

Other than Ryan, everyone had gathered in the pub to eat breakfast and prepare for their journey's. Since he wasn't leaving the town Ronan insisted that he be allowed to help prepare food for the other's so he was in the kitchen with Emil and Mr. Lirios. The others were in the front of the pub eating or talking amongst themselves.

"So Ryan left earlier?" Elesis asked Amy as she was shoving food in her mouth.

"Yeah I was talking to him this morning and he left just as the sun was coming up."

"I hope he's okay. Did he eat anything before he left?"

"Don't think so."

"He's such a glutton I'm amazed he didn't wait."

"He wanted to get to the forest and get Agano out of it, that forest is important to him."

"So are you ready to go to the temple?"

"Well I'll have Armie with me right, so I think I'll be fine but you're going to hell aren't you nervous."

Elesis shrugged. "We'll be fine, I've got Abastoth's power and Lire seems really determined for some reason."

"Yeah I wonder why that is?"

"Are you girls ready to go?" The girls turned to the kitchen to see Ronan carrying bags of food and a map. He gave each of the girls a bag and gave the map to Lire. "Good luck guys."

"The Temple of Fire is pretty close to town, actually." Emil said coming out of the kitchen. "Just head east of town and you'll get there in a little over an hour." Arme and Amy nodded in thanks for the directions.

"Good luck," Ronan called to the four girls as they left the town. The girls split up at the edge of town and headed out to their respective destinations. As Emil told them it didn't take long to reach the temple of fire. It was a huge temple on an island in the middle of the continent. The only way to the temple was a rickety bridge with a long drop into a river of lava below. Amy looked over the edge.

"Can't you get us to the other side without walking across the bridge?"

"Don't be a baby." Arme told her as she walked towards the bridge.

"But Armie..."

"Shut up and get across the bridge."

"You go first." Arme shrugged her shoulders and stepped onto the bridge. The bridge shook violently and Arme jumped back. Amy got a sly smile on her face. "Go on." Arme scowled at Amy and steppec back on the bridge. She wanted to grab the ropes on either side but ehr cauldron was to heavy to allow it so she walked slowly and cautiously across the swinging bridge. She turned around to see that Amy still hadn't stepped on the bridge.

"Hurry up!"

"Ok, ok." Amy cautiously stepped onto the bridge and it shook again. Amy screamed and jumped back off the bridge.

"What is wrong with you!"

"I'm scared of heights!"

"What! but I thought you were talking to Ryan on the Inn's roof this morning!"

"two stories isn't high!" Amy pointed down the cliff. "THIS is high!"

Arme was completely exasperated with Amy's attitude. "Then I'll do this myself!" She yelled back at her as she charged across the bridge. As she got to the temple the ropes on the bridge snapped and it fell into the lava below. Arme looked down at the falling bridge with a frightened twitch in her eye. She looked up to see Amy staring at her from across the chasm.

"What now!" Amy yelled to her.

"Go back to town and figure out some way for me to get back across when I'm done here."

"Wasn't that Elena lady flying before?"

"Elena was at a much higher level in the guild than I was!" Suddenly there was a huge roar that shook the ground. Arme slowly turned around to look at the temple. "Amy! Figure something out I don't want to be here any longer than I have to!" With that Arme ran into the temple. Amy stood there examining the front of the temple for a moment.

Amy stood there looking at the front of the temple for a moment before she dropped and sat on the ground. "Hmmmmm..." She hummed to herself as she thought about some way to get into the temple. There was another earth shaking roar and the edge of the cliff she was sitting on crumbled and fell into the lava below. Amy very slightly leaned over the edge of the cliff, terrified. She stood up just as a large plume of flames spewed up from the lava below causing Amy to stumble backwards and fall on her butt. "Ow," She mumbled as she stood up. _"This is hopeless, I better go and find some help." _Just as Amy turned to leave there was a loud humming noise behind her. She turned around to see that all the rocks that had crumbled from the cliff had been lifted up somehow and formed a wide bridge to the other side. All the rocks had a purplish glow around them. _"They must actually think I'm as dumb as I act. This is obviously a trap."_ Suddenly there was another huge, earthshaking roar. Amy looked back at the temple and sighed. _"I'm coming to help you Arme."_ She thought as she ran across the bridge. Once she reached the other side she turned and watched as the stone bridge crumbled and fell back into the lava. Without a second thought she ran into the temple.

The temple was enormous. Every room had rivers of lava flowing through it and most rooms that Amy went through had shattered scouts, guards and other monsters destroyed on the ground. "Guess Arme's been through here." She said to the air. She kept walking and came across a room with two enormous doors going deeper into the temple. The door on the right was closed tightly but the door on the left was slightly ajar. Amy entered the left door, assuming that Arme must have gone through it. As soon as she was through the door it slammed shut behind her. She turned to look at it for a moment. _"I'm not in control around here am I?"_ she asked herself before continuing on. Amy's path was chosen for her throughout the next several rooms. She had no idea who or what was guiding, or trapping her and it was beginning to get eerie. Even so, Amy couldn't go back and she had to do something to find Arme, so she continued on destroying the scouts and guards that appeared in her way. She finally came upon a strange path suspended from the ceiling of a massive room. Down below the path she was on, the room was filled with lava with a large islet of stone in the center. There was a single path to the center islet attached to a door on one side of the room.

The door opened slightly and Arme walked through. "Arme!" Amy yelled down to her. Arme didn't hear her. Arme reached the center islet and the path crumbled behind her. Arme turned as she heard the path behind hear and there was an earthshaking roar. A giant Lizard-like creature rose from the lava. It roared, shaking the path that Amy was on. Arme opened the lid of her cauldron and released a stream of lava at the basilisk. Amy hit her forehead, "It lives in lava, that's not gonna hurt it!" She yelled at Arme. Once again Arme couldn't hear her. _"Is the basilisk making some kind of noise that's stopping her from hearing me?"_ The basilisk launched an enormous, but slow, ball of fire at Arme which she absorbed into her cauldron. The basilisk then raised it's enormous claw and smashed the ground causing Arme to fly into the air. She landed hard and rolled just as the basilisk's claw dug into the ground. Arme got to her feet. she grabbed some dirt and threw it into her cauldron before focusing her energy into it. She opened it and shot a volcanic rock at the basilisk. The rock glanced off the basilisk's hard, metallic stales. The basilisk swung it's head back and smashed it into the ground. Arme rolled barely avoiding the basilisk's head.

_"I've got to get down there and help her."_ Amy thought as she tried to force the door open. A faint, pink glow could be seen beneath Amy's blouse. Suddenly the door she had come through burst open and a large, blood red Mongbang came charging through. _"A mongbang leader!" _Amy pulled out her chakrams. She dashed towards the mongbang and jumped into the air throwing her chakram down towards it's head. The mongbang reflected the chakram with it's club. Amy used the wind made from swing her second chakram to spin allowing her to grab the reflected chakram and land safely on her feet. The mong bang smashed his club on the ground shaking the path and almost causing Amy to fall into the lava below. Amy threw her chakram again as she jumped backwards. the mongbang hit the chakram with his club throwing it off the path and into the lava. Amy turned to look off the path to see Arme looking in the direction that the chakram had fallen in. The basilisk threw it's claw forward hitting the ground just in front of Arme throwing her back and destroying almost half of the islet that Arme was on. _"No, I have to get down there."_ The pink glow grew brighter. Amy looked up to see the mongbang just above her. She stood and glared at the mongbang. "Stay out of my way!" She yelled angrily. The pink glow grew extremely bright and engulfed everything.

* * *

Amy opened her eyes, rubbing her head. She looked around, everything around her was completely white. She could hear a soft melody playing from somewhere. The melody was slow and soothing. Amy closed her eyes and rocked her head side to side.

"Like that?" A kind and gentle voice asked after the music stopped.

"I recognize that song, it was composed by the father of an old friend of mine."

"You knew master composer Siril?"

"His son was my best friend when I was growing up on Silverland, It's because of Siril that I decided to learn how to dance."

"I see. Oh, I'm sorry how rude of me." A young, handsome man holding a violin appeared in front of Amy. "How do you do, I am Ess, former Muse of Kanavan."

"You were playing that song earlier then?"

"Indeed. I was quite impressed that you knew it."

"That was always my favorite of Siril's songs."

"I see, tell me do you remember this?" Ess played another song on his violin. This one was far more upbeat than the last and it lifted Amy's spirit.

"I always think about how my mother would sing to that tune."

"Your mother? Ah yes, she disappeared some time ago if I'm recalling your memories correctly."

"Back when Kaze'aze was just regaining power."

"Tragic to be sure. Tell me, Amy. Are you interested in learning how to play the tunes of master Siril."

"I always have, but I never had any talent for singing or playing the violin, I could only dance."

"I see. Let me see your chakram." Amy handed Ess the one chakram which she had left. "Who gave you this?"

"General Kirion, back on Xenia."

"It is a blessed weapon that can take new shape." As Ess explained this the chakram had begun glowing and took the shape of a violin. He handed it to Amy. "Don't worry about a lack of talent, Amy. Ess took off his bracelet and snapped it onto Amy's wrist. "As long as you wear this you will be able to play many melodies including those to aid you in battle."

"What are you talking about?"

"Amy I accept you and grant you the power of the Muse. You see Muses use no solid weapon. A muses weapon is music itself. As long as you can play then you can fight."

"But I can't play without a bow."

Ess lifted his hand and Amy's other chakram appeared in it. "As I said, it is a blessed weapon and it will always return to it's owner." The chakram glowed and became a Violin bow which floated over to Amy's hand. Amy stared at the bow for a moment before bowing to Ess.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed happily.

Ess smiled, you are a kind and smart girl Amy. Now take your new power and show Kaze'aze this fact."

Amy nodded, "First thing's first I have to get down there to save Arrme from the basilisk."

"Yes." A new voice said from nowhere. Karina appeared next to Ess.

"Ahh Karina, how nice to see you again."

"You as well, Ess." Karina greeted him as she turned to Amy. "Arme is in trouble. She is an alchemist who specialize in creating power from what's around them, which is why she should have been sent elsewhere for an alchemist cannot fight in it's enemies element. The Basilisk is a creature of stone and flame, there is nothing Arme can do. Please Amy you have to help her." Amy nodded.

"Remember Amy, your new power is music itself. You will know what you must do about the Basilisk." A white light enveloped the strange place and Amy fell unconscious.

* * *

Amy woke up with the Mongbang still staring over her. It lifted it's club to strike.

"Don't even think about it." Amy stated as she began playing a fast tune. The Mongbang stumbled backwards at the sound of the music. It dropped it's club and held it's head. Amy stopped playing, charged the Mongbang and kicked thee side of it's head knocking it off the path they were on. The Mongbang fell into the Lava below. Amy put her hand to her head and waved her hair out of her eyes. She turned down to the basilisk's area to find that Arme was unconscious, perilously close to the edge of what remained of the platform. Amy set the violin into the crevice of her neck and played a slow calm tune. A large rock appeared in front of her. She jumped on it and it quickly floated down to the Basilisk's islet. Amy jumped off and stood before the Basilisk. It stared at her for a moment before rearing it's head back and launching a fireball at her. Amy jumped back avoiding the blast of flame. She shook her head at the Basilisk and began playing a new tune. A simple yet somewhat hypnotic tune. The Basilisk's eyes dimmed slightly and it's head rocked from side to side.

"You're rather susceptible to music, aren't you." She said to the Basilisk. Amy giggled slightly as she increased the tempo of her song. The Basilisk's head flailed wildly at the new tune. It smashed it's head on the edge of the islet and layed there. Amy walked up to the Basilisk and stroked it's head.

"You're not an evil creature you just want to be left alone. Agano came and disturbed you so you couldn't help but build your power to destroy all those around you. You would've been happier just remaining asleep in the lava. Well then just as he did before me, let me play you the Muses most important song. The song of sealing." Amy began playing a new song, a beautiful song. It began slow and the tempo jumped around almost wildly. The song shouldn't have worked, but anyone who heard this song would be greatly calmed. Arme eyes slowly opened as she heard the music. She pushed to her feet and looked at Amy. Arme couldn't see the Amy she knew. All she saw was a beautiful young girl, playing the most calming and beautiful song that she had ever heard. Tears formed in Arme's eyes as the song went on. The Basilisk slowly lifted it's head and looked straight up at the ceiling. It slowly and calmly descended into the lava and returned to it's slumber. Amy finished her song and Arme walked up to her her face stained with tears.

"Amy, that song was..."

"I know." Amy said as she turned to face Arme, revealing tear stains on her face as well. "It's beautiful."

"You were accepted?" Amy nodded. "I'm sorry, I never really accepted you as part of the team but you just did something that I could never have done. I'm sorry."

Amy smiled, "Don't worry about it... Armie." Arme's head shot up with a look of intense anger.

"Stop calling me that."

"But then I wouldn't be me." Amy laughed as she ran around what was left of the islet trying to avoid Arme's wrath. Amy stuck her tongue out at Arme."

"Is it to much to ask that her personality get fixed." Arme fumed to herself.

Amy laughed, "We gotta be ourselves right?"

"Forget it, FOR NOW! on a more important note how do we get out of here."

"Oh that's easy." Amy played a simple tune on her violin and a path of light appeared from the islet to the door.

"How did you?"

"What you didn't know? The Temple of Fire was built by the muses as a place to let the Basilisk sleep. Muses were the only ones who could calm him so they composed a special song that would allow him to sleep in the temple of fire forever as long as it's not disturbed. But over history he has been disturbed many times. Whether by accident or on purpose a muse would always come to return the Basilisk to his gentle slumber."

"How do you know all that?"

"Well as a Muse I need to know the song of sealing and how and why it works. Just like how you know What combinations of materials make what."

"You're smarter than you act." Amy winked and stuck her tongue out at Arme. Arme shook her head.

With Amy's music opening doors and creating shortcuts their passage out of the Temple of Fire was much shorter than their journey in. Once they reached outside Arme created another bridge of light to get back to the main part of Ellia.

"Race you back to Orinig!" Amy screamed cheerfully.

"Like that's fair," Arme muttered to herself as she, pointlessly, tried to keep up with Amy.

* * *

"Not bad." The deep and gentle yet bodiless voice from back in the forest said. "She did very well."

"Indeed." Agano, who was sitting on the roof of the Temple of Fire, agreed.

"That Ryan boy really surprised me back in the forest, but you did a good job awakening a sentinel using the Nephilim and using this temple to awaken the muse was pure genius."

"It doesn't take much to come up with a good idea." Agano stated monotonically. "Do you feel anything from them yet?"

"Not a thing. I was hoping that one of the chosen would be able to succeed this power but so far, I haven't felt a thing."

"Well, for now we must continue to increase their strength until they are ready to defeat Kaze'aze."

"You're one cold traitor, you know that. So who's next, The Crossbowman or the Dragon Knight."

"I can't do a thing to them if they go to hell bridge, I'm hoping that Gardosen will push the young elf to her new power. As for the Dragon Knight, there is someone much more suited than me to help him with that."

"Oh, so he's on the move again, huh?" Agano nodded and stood up. "Where're you going?"

"I'm returning to the castle I've done all I can and I must have Kaze'aze revive the gorgos before they arrive."

"Right right. Well then I guess I'll just lounge around and..."

"It's that attitude that started this whole mess to begin with!" Agano yelled at the bodiless voice. "Keep an eye on them and see if one meets your specifications. Don't you dare slack off Sieghart."

"Fine." The voice said, annoyed. Agano threw a seal in front of him and disappeared into thin air. "Well then," The voice said to no one in particular, "I think I'm gonna go observe Grant's boy."

* * *

Nothing much to say here.

Pls review, I apologize again for my long hiatus etc. etc.


	19. Savior

Wow this didn't take long, I'm proud of myself. It would have been out sooner but my Mom decided it was time for our family's annual three day shopping trip for Christmas and let me tell you that when you come home each day the only thing you feel like doing is crashing in your bed. Oh Well time to meet Gardosen.

Enjoy

* * *

Lire stared at Hell Bridge. It was... frightening. The bridge was constructed of a strange, flesh coloured material mixed with skulls. It reminded Lire of the Orc's temple. In the sky above the bridge were black clouds, lightning was jumping from the clouds to the bridge and beyond. Below the bridge was a black mist which hid everything beneath. It was sunny today and the place where the bridges barrier separated the two worlds was clearly visible. Lire's breath caught in her throat.

"You ok?" Elesis asked.

"I-I'll be fine," Lire choked out.

Elesis rested her lance across her shoulders and hooked her arms behind it. "Let's go."

"That looks uncomfortable," Lire commented.

"Yea but I can't help it, probably one of Abastoth's old habits."

"You look like your about to get hanged or something."

"And you're stalling." Lire looked at the bridge again. She gulped loudly. "It'll be fine, let's go." Without dropping the lance or unhooking her arms, Elesis turned and walked towards the bridge. Lire notched an arrow and followed hesitantly. They stopped just before the barrier.

"Please, hold your spear so that you can fight." Lire pleaded. Elesis rolled her eyes and unhooked her arms. She held her spear horizontally behind her back.

"Better?"

"Please be more serious about this. It's dangerous in there and that boy's life is at stake to." Elesis sighed and walked through the barrier without a word. Lire followed.

As soon as they passed the barrier everything around them went dark. Above them there was no sky, only darkness. When they turned around they could no longer see Ellia, just an endless darkness. Elesis tried to walk back through then barrier, but it was gone and so was Ellia.

"Looks like we aren't getting out the way we came in." Lire gulped again. "Relax, it just means we have to move forward. But who knows what could be lurking around here so keep your arrows ready and stay behind me." Lire nodded and followed Elesis cautiously. Almost immediately after they started moving they were ambushed. They were surrounded by many scouts and guards, but these were different than the ones they were used to. They were black and purple in color rather than their usual red and orange. "What's with these things."

"Brother brother, They have absorbed the dark powers of hell and have become dark Anmon Soldiers." Elesis and Lire spun around. Behind them was a strange demon. He wore a large purple cloak and a white mask with 3 red stripes on one side. It looked as though he had a hunchback and in his right hand was a staff topped with a skull.

"W-who are y-you?" Lire asked shakily.

"Brother brother, we are the lich brothers." Elesis and Lire spun around again to see another demon who looked identical to the first.

"Brother brother, we are master Gardosen's strongest servants."

"Brother brother, that is why we guard the barrier."

"Brother brother, we are the strongest necromancers."

"When we..."

"Kill you, you will..."

"Become our eternal..."

"Servants." The brothers finished each other's sentences perfectly, to a point where it was almost eerie. Lire shook furiously and dropped her bow. Elesis glanced back at her.

"Just calm down Lire, you need to stay calm." Lire tried to pick up her bow but dropped it again almost immediately. "Just stand back and let me handle this," Elesis told her as she gripped the shaft of her spear. Elesis charged at the first brother, jumping as she approached and attempting to impale him from above. The Lich disappeared as Elesis landed and reappeared further down the bridge. He raised his staff and lightning formed at the tip. He shot a large stream of lightning at Elesis. Elesis used the end of her spear to push off the ground and avoid the attack. She spun around in mid-air, changing her target and attempting to impale the second brother. The second brother floated quickly to the side. As soon as she landed Elesis spun around slashing at the second brother. He moved back, being pushed by Elesis' onslaught. Elesis continued pushing back the second brother until she finally had him. She pointed the tip of her spear at the Lich with the tip only centimeters away from his mask.

"Any last words?"

The Lich laughed, "Why don't you check on your friend." Elesis' eyes widened. The second brother had been luring Elesis away from Lire while the first brother cornered her.

"Dammit!" Elesis screamed as she turned and ran away from the brother she was fighting. He lifted his staff and the eye sockets of the skull glowed yellow. suddenly, an uncountable number of skeletal hands shot up from underneath Elesis grabbing her ankles and causing her to fall to the ground. Elesis turned and stabbed at the hands but each one she destroyed was quickly replaced by two more. "Dammit!" She shouted again as she desperately struggled to get free while the brother who controlled the hands laughed hysterically. As she tried to break free, she heard a whooshing sound fly by her head. Almost immediately afterwards the hands disappeared. Elesis pushed to her feet quickly to find that Lire was holding her bow and the first Lich brother had retreated to his brother's, Who had an arrow sticking out of his mask, side. Elesis rushed to Lire.

"Are you ok?" Lire nodded, her hands still trembling. "Thanks for that." Elesis said while staring intently at the Lich brothers so as to predict their movements. "But this isn't like you, what's wrong?"

"Elves are very well attuned to the feelings of dread and malice of the dead of other races and it weighs on our minds weakening us. This place is swarming with malice, it's frightening. I can deal with it elsewhere but it's just to strong here"

Elesis kept her eyes trained on the Lich brothers who had removed the arrow from the second brothers mask and seemed to be preparing something. "You knew we were dropping to hell so why'd you insist on coming here? You should have stayed to guard the town and sent Ronan instead."

"Because I feel like... that boy that Kaze'aze is controlling is counting on me, specifically and I don't know why. So I want to get The last ingredient myself."

"Do your best to support me for now, they're coming." The brothers moved closer to Elesis and Lire without casting any spells or showing any signs of hostility.

"Brother brother, are you ready to meet your new opponent."

"Brother brother, he is of our strongest." Elesis readied her spear and Lire shakily notched an arrow as the brothers crossed their staffs. An enormous amount of dark energy flowed into the bridge as many bones rose out of the dark mist. The bones began to form themselves into a being and, as the bones formed, rotten flesh began to form on the bones. The flesh was a strange colour and hte being was far to big to be human or elf. Lire's eyes widened and she stepped back trembling even harder than before. She dropped her bow and fell to her knees.

"Lire are you ok?"

"The thoughts that I'm feeling from what they're summoning. It's him and this malice is so frightening, I can't take it!" Elesis turned around as the summoned being was completed. her eyes narrowed in anger.

"How dare you summon that."

"Brother brother, meet one of our strongest servants."

"Brother brother, destroy those girls, Zombie Orc Lord!" The rotting creature, which had taken the form of the Orc Lord that killed Lire's family, raised it's hands in front of it's chest and a hammer made of bone appeared. It smashed the hammer on the ground causing a stream of sharp bones to fly out of the ground at the girls. Elesis grabbed Lire off the ground and jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding the attack. Elesis let's Lire drop to the ground and grips the shaft of her spear, just below the tip. She charges at a faster speed than she ever had before. She jumped landing on the rotting orc's shoulder and stabbing her spear into it. The Orc Lord swung it's arm without showing any bit of pain and Elesis flew off, taking her spear with her. As she hit the ground, she rolled to regain her balance. and charged the Orc Lord again. Jumping above it and sending her spear through the top of it's head. The Orc Lord showed no signs of pain as it tried to punch Elesis off it's head. She avoided the punches, removing her spear and jumping back down to the bridge. The Orc Lord tried to smash her with it's hammer but she avoided just in time, getting on top of it's hammer and running up it's arm. She stabbed it's eye. Once again it showed no reaction. She quickly dislodged her spear, jumped back down to the ground and created distance between the zombie and herself.

"How am I supposed to get rid of this thing?" She muttered under her breath.

"Take off it's head." Elesis' head turned slightly to find Lire standing again and holding her bow with a small green glow coming off of it. "Distract it, and I'll incinerate it's head." Lire said with a hollow voice and a detached look in her eyes. Even though Elesis was just looking out of the corner of her eye she could clearly see how wobbly Lire was. "Please, Elesis. You need my help even if I can't stand easily." Elesis nodded slightly.

"Just be careful not to hurt yourself or hit me." Lire nodded as Elesis took off towards the zombie. As she approached the zombie raised it's hammer. Elesis feinted left before darting to the right causing the hammer attack to hit far to the left of Elesis' position. She then gripped her spear tightly as she jabbed it into the zombie's leg. The zombie showed no pain but turned it's body and attempted to punch Elesis. Without dislodging her spear, she jumped back to avoid the attack. She turned to look at Lire who had managed to form the green aura.

_"I have no control over this, even less so due to all the malice in the air. But please, Hit!"_ Lire fired a single arrow which changed into the intensely powerful beam of green energy which had destroyed the first Orc Lord. The zombie noticed the beam just as it enveloped it's head, destroying it and causing the body to dissolve into bones. Elesis rushed forward to pick up her spear and immediately rushed ti Lire's side. After firing the beam, Lire had fallen to her knees from exhaustion and was breathing heavily.

"Good job." Elesis whispered as she stood in front of Lire. She looked at the two brothers who hadn't moved since they had summoned the zombie. "_Dammit are they toying with us, if they had helped that thing then we would've lost by now."_

From behind Elesis, Lire screams. Elesis spins around to find Lire wrapped up in skeletal hands, though neither of the brothers had cast a spell. She turned back to the brothers who were floating there motionless. Neither of them does anything as skeletal hands fly up from the bridge wrapping around Elesis and preventing her from using her spear.

"Brother brother."

"Brother brother."

"We are..."

"The Lich brothers."

"We four..."

"Shall be your demise."

Elesis' eyes widened in surprise at the two new voices coming from behind her. She turned her head as far as she could and, surely enough, there were two more Lichs, who looked identical to the first two, behind them. The two Lichs behind them had there staffs raised with the eye sockets glowing. Elesis turned her head back to see the original brothers laughing as they moved towards her and Lire. Tears formed in Elesis' eyes.

_"Dammit I can't protect anything like this."_ Despite the fact that she couldn't move her arms she instinctively gripper her spear harder and closed her eyes. _"The entire reason I'm here is to protect my friends and now Lire's going to..."_

"Elesis! Open your eyes now!" Elesis' eyes shot open. she was still being held by the bone arms but time had stopped around her and standing in front of her was Abastoth. He waved his hand slightly, knocking away the hand that was covering Elesis' mouth.

"What's going on?"

"I have something to explain to you and this is the perfect time for it."

"What is it?"

"Elesis... along with the spear you also gained several other things, including my battle strategies, my impulsiveness, although you seemed to have that on your own, and even a habit or two. But the most important thing you inherited from me is a special skill that no one else has ever been able to use. I don't even know how it works. The only thing I know is that it only ever activated when I was in danger of losing someone precious to me. This skill is dangerous and I had hoped that I would never have to tell you about it. When it activates all your limits will disappear. Every ounce of power you hold will flow into one place and manifest itself into the greatest energy and power that you've ever seen. You will no longer be restricted by movement or the enemies armor and nothing will be able to stop your spear. However, using all your energy at the same time won't last long and when it's over you'll be exhausted. You're senses will dull, you'll have troubling seeing, hearing and feeling things for awhile and if danger is approaching you will have no way to sense it or defend yourself from it. Even so this nameless skill that I somehow had within me may be your only way out of this mess."

"How do I use this skill?"

"If you think about and understand that someone precious to you is about to lose their life then it will activate on it's own. I have nothing else to say, Elesis. We will not see each other again." Abastoth waved his hand again causing the bone hand from before to return to Elesis' mouth. "Good luck." With that Abastoth disappeared. Elesis closed her eyes again, she could feel the bone hands begin to move on her flesh once again.

_"If I don't do it now then Lire will die. If we die here then that boy will be doomed and Kaze'aze will win." _Elesis kept repeating these thoughts in her head. She opened her eyes and turned her head to Lire. The original two Lich brothers were on either side of her, their staffs were glowing with a dark energy. Elesis shook from anger, her eyes narrowed. Suddenly there was a huge burst of energy from Elesis. The hands crumbled around her. It was over in an instant. Within seconds Elesis had dropped to one knee, Lire was free and the four Lich brothers were dead on the ground. Elesis didn't have any recollection of what she did, she just knew that it had happened.

"Elesis... Elesis!" Elesis strained her ears to hear that someone was calling her name. She opened her eyes, she could barely see. She strained her eyes to just barely allow her to see Lire above her. Lire's face was flushed and she was panting heavily, probably from the new malice of the four dead Lich brothers. "What was that?" Lire asked, Elesis could just barely hear her.

"... a new power." Elesis said slowly while panting heavily. "It's called... savior." Elesis forced herself to her feet and, shakily, picked up her spear. "L-let's go, we s-still have work t-to do." Lire stepped away from Elesis looking even more frightened than before. "W-what's wrong."

"Stone curse." A dark, raspy voice said from behind her. Elesis felt a strange chill in her back as her body transformed into a lifeless statue. Lire stumbled backwards looking at the tall demon behind Elesis. He wore a strange helmet which was loosely shaped like a crown at the top and he was clad in dark, gray robes. On his back were two bat-like wings and in his right hand was a long, golden sword. "I am Gardosen. Who dares trespass in my domain?"

* * *

Well I only said that we would meet Gardosen I didn't say anything about fighting him so... yeah, I'm not a liar. anyways please review and I hope I can get the next chapter out as quickly as I got this one out.


	20. Ydrai's game

... Well I failed my goal by a painfully large margin but like I said I set aside some time for writing just don't be expecting fast updates, you know, life comes first

Enjoy

* * *

Lire stumbled back at the sudden appearance of Gardosen. She glanced at Elesis through half opened eyes. The newly killed Lich brothers released a ridiculous amount of Malicious thoughts, which weighed heavily on Lire's mind.

"I ask again, who are you and why have you come here?" Lire looked up, straining her neck to see the front of Gardosen's helmet. She didn't speak. "Another fool searching for my soul, perhaps?" Lire's eyes widened out of fear. He knew exactly why she was here and she was in no condition to fight someone like him. She wouldn't have anywhere near enough strength to combat him, even if she wasn't being weighed down by the malice around her. Even so she stood up shakily. "I see, another fool who has come to die." Lire took a few steps back. She notched an arrow, despite the futility, and aimed her bow at Gardosen. Gardosen sighed, "I have no interest in killing weaklings, but if you are this insistent..." Gardosen charged. Lire jumped, avoiding the attack and causing Gardosen to crash his sword into the bridge. She landed and stumbled. She regained her balance and fired her arrow at Gardosen. He didn't even bother to block it. It lodged itself into his arm and snapped under the pressure of his aura. "Was that all?" He asked sounding disappointed. "Most who come to face me have at least the human standard of power." Lire panted heavily. "That's it? No struggle? No? How boring." Gardosen, now bored with Lire's weakness, raised his sword above his head with one arm. Lire stepped back again and a green light shone one her breast. Just as Gardosen began to swing his sword, the light grew and became a white light which enveloped everything.

* * *

Lire opened her eyes. She was in a place of pure white as far as the eyes could see. Her headache was gone and she couldn't feel the malicious thoughts of the spirits anymore.

"Is someone there?" She yelled to the blank whiteness.

"Yeah, of course." A deep and rude voice said from nowhere. "Your friends told you about this place so why the hell wouldn't I be here?" A human with sharp eyes and long, red hair appeared in front of Lire. "I'm assuming you know why you're here?"

"Because you accepted me and want to give me your weapon and power, right?"

"Hardly!" He replied quickly and rudely. "But hey, you die here and I disappear and that's not something that anyone wants. Besides there's no reason to just let you die here." He crossed his arms and sat on the floor, cross-legged. He held up his hand and rested his chin in it as he stared at Lire. "You're cute and so are your friends. Not Ronan and Ryan though, they bug me. So yeah why just let a pretty girl die for no reason, right?" Lire stared at him in disbelief. "What? Charmed?" He put a stupid smile on his face.

_"Of all the heroes I get this irresponsible guy? Why?" _Lire looked at him, "So are you saying that You're giving me your powers?"

"Yeah, figure I may as well. You're gonna get my power and weapon but not the knowledge that comes with it."

"What! Why?"

"Well I see it this way. If you don't get more power here then you're gonna die and then you and the cute red-head are dead. Even so I don't feel like just giving it all up. So here's the game. You get my weapon and power. The first thing you gotta do is figure out how to stop the malicious thoughts of hell from affecting you. Second you gotta figure out how to use the new weapons I give you. And last you have to kill Gardosen and get his marble. If you lose then you die and Elesis stays, as a statue, forever. If you win then you get this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an emerald bracelet. "You wear this and you'll know all of my secrets."

"So I have to play your game if I want your power?"

"Yeah I never really believed in this whole accepting someone thing so I decided I'd make it a prize for something."

"I can't believe your actually a hero."

"Not all heroes are these gallant, selfless people who put their lives on the line because other people are in trouble. Some heroes fight for their own reasons."

"So what's your reason?"

"Girls and money." Lire stared at him with utter contempt. First he decided to play a game with her life and now she finds out his reasons for fighting back when he was alive. She couldn't believe that this guy was ever considered a hero. "That's the same look I used to get from Anne," He said, laughing at her. "Of course after I met Anne my reason changed to just money but still she really didn't like my attitude that much."

"Your name was Ydrai right? I don't like you. I can't accept you as a hero. I don't accept the way you act or talk and I especially don't accept the reason that you had for fighting." Ydrai laughed at her.

"Same thing Anne said, at first that is, I managed to wear her down. Good luck in your battle with Gardosen, not that you have much a chance, really."

"How would you know?" Ydrai's face turned uncharacteristically serious.

"Let me correct some of what you know. Way back when we fought Gaikoz I wasn't alive. The story that got passed through the centuries got distorted but I was dead at the time. They needed my power and they hired the violet mage guild to perform a, now forbidden, spell to revive me. Now that you know that much think you can tell me who may have killed me?"

"If it's who I think it is then I'm still not worried, there's no way I'm weaker than someone like you."

"Let me explain something to you. There are three things that determine someone's strength. A reason to fight which gives you power, the determination to train and increase your own power, and natural talent or your base power. Most powerful warriors will have a balance of the three things, creating a combined power through the three. But with certain people, one will outshine the others. For example, that orc that you guys fought. I could sense that his natural talent was only that of an average orc and he didn't have the mindset for increasing his own power therefore he matched your friend Elesis, who falls into the balanced mold, solely with his reason to fight, which gave him strength." Lire had been listening to Ydrai's lecture but finally stopped him.

"I don't agree with that way of thinking nor do I see any point in this lecture."

"My point is that my reason to fight is weak and I'm clearly not the type to train much, yet I was still considered strong enough that I was called back for the sake of fighting Gaikoz. What does that tell you?"

"You're saying that you're a prodigy." An small crossbow appeared in Ydrai's hand and he threw it to Lire.

"I made that weapon when I was six and, when I was fifteen, I hired one of the violet mages to enchant it with magic giving me the ability to reload the bolts automatically without having to make myself vulnerable." Another small crossbow appeared in his hand and he threw it to Lire. "That allowed me to dual wield the crossbows and eliminate most of an archer's weaknesses from my style. On top of all that, I was a prodigy with so much natural talent that I didn't need to do anything to be strong. The only point that I'm making here is that you shouldn't assume I'm weak just because I'm a slacker and you really shouldn't assume that you'll defeat Gardosen unless you have something that sets you apart and increases your power to a higher level than mine was at when I fought him."

"Shut up!" She yelled at him, "I don't want to hear warnings like that from someone like you!"

"I see. Well your loss, not mine. Lucky you though, I gave you a bit of info about the weapons, good luck."

"I'll be back for that bracelet soon enough and then I'll destroy Kaze'aze for the sake of everyone, not myself."

"Hey, suit yourself." Ydrai snapped his fingers and Lire passed out.

* * *

The moment Lire regained consciousness she jumped back avoiding Gardosen's sword. She landed on the ground and grabbed her head, suddenly remembering just how strong the malicious thoughts on the bridge were. She shakily took a step back, all to easily losing the confidence that she had gained from her anger towards Ydrai. She raised her right arm aiming the crossbow at Gardosen.

"A new weapon?" Gardosen questioned, sounding almost bored. "I recognize that. Only one person would use a crossbow so small, well, only one before you. So you have inherited Ydrai's energy, then perhaps this will not be so boring. He was indeed the most powerful foe I have fought since my last reincarnation." Lire fired three bolts from the crossbow. Gardosen blocked the bolts with his sword as Lire put as much difference between her and Gardosen as possible. Gardosen raised his sword and swung it straight down causing a wind slash similar to the ones Gaikoz used. Even with the enormous headache, Lire had plenty of time to avoid the attack. In the time it took Lire to hit the ground from her dive, Gardosen covered the distance between them and tried to stab her. Lire rolled, barely avoiding the attack. Her movements were sluggish compared to her normal yet she was still much faster than the average person. She spun her body on the ground and shot two more bolts from her crossbows. Gardosen knocked the bolts away with his sword and tried to attack again. Lire used her hands to push forward, avoiding the attack and running back towards where they originally were. Gardosen turned and raised his hand. Lire stopped to look at the ground which was covered in an enormous magic circle. She immediately started running as fast as her sluggish mind would move her. She gets out of the range of the circle just as an enormous mound of fire engulfs everything within the circle. Lire turned to see that that entire section of the bridge was gone and there was no way for Lire to get to the other side of the hole without going around. Gardosen floated across the hole, lowering himself to the ground on the other end. He raised his sword again and swung it at Lire who desperately avoided the attacks in whatever way she could. The malice around her got stronger and stronger as she approached Elesis' statue which was surrounded by the dead bodies of the four lich brothers. Her movements slowed more and more but Gardosen kept pushing her back towards the statue. Gardosen riased his sword over his shoulder swinging it at Lire horizontally. Lire instinctively jumped, flipping over and seeing Gardosen on the ground. He didn't stop swinging his sword when Lire dodged and Lire watched, in horror, as his sword swung across the bridge, crushing Elesis into large chunks.

Lire landed, eyes wide, horrified at what she just witnessed. Gardosen turned to her. "A shame, she made an excellent statue I am rather disappointed that she was destroyed." Lire gritted her teeth and glared at Gardosen with slits for eyes. Her hands gripped the crossbows tightly. She charged forward at a greatly increased speed, firing eight arrows from each crossbow. Gardosen was taken back in surprise by the sudden increase of speed and the number of bolts. He swung his sword to knock away the bolts but three of them got through and found his chest. They embedded themselves deep into his chest preventing him from removing them. Gardosen shows no signs of pain and charges at Lire again, she easily dodges the attack by jumping backwards and stopping at the edge of the hole made by Gardosen's flame. Gardosen raised his sword above his head and magic circles began appearing randomly across the bridge.

"Meteor." He said calmly. A large meteor fell into each of the magic circles. Lire charged forward darting between the plumes of flame brought up by the meteor. When she got close enough to Gardosen she fired ten bolts through the plume of flame in front of her causing them to go red hot before reaching Gardosen. He swung his sword, knocking the bolts away and raised his hand, putting out the flames. Lire wasn't on the other side. Gardosen looked up and Lire was floating above him, turned upside down with both of her crossbows aimed at him. She fired a seemingly endless stream of bolts at Gardosen. He looked at the bolts flying towards him and a strange energy shot from his body knocking every single bolt away. He then raised his sword, pointing it at Lire, and fired a blast of magical energy at her. Lire used her arm to turn in the air in an attempt to avoid the energy but it still seared her arm. Lire landed On the other side of the broken Elesis and faced Gardosen.

"Your power has made a noticeable jump."

"Thanks to you."

"Hmmmm?"

Lire pointed at the pieces of Elesis. "Who would've thought that anger could clear your mind, in the right circumstances."

"Is that so? Well this is certainly enjoyable, I am quite pleased."

"We'll see how pleased you are when I have your marble."

"Brave girl. Ydrai could not defeat me despite his best efforts and you think that you can having just inherited his weapon."

"Ydrai's best efforts? That guy would never try hard enough to defeat you but I will."

"Nonsense, he was wholly serious when we fought. I remember him telling me that it was the first time he had been so serious."

"Sorry but I don't believe that for moment."

"No matter then. Let us continue." Gardosen covered the distance in the blink of an eye and stabbed at Lire. She dove to the ground and rolled avoiding the attack. Lire turned and fired five bolts. Gardosen blocked with his sword and attacked again. Lire jumped above him and rained bolts down from above. Gardosen looked at the bolts and they blasted away, missing him completely. Lire landed, aiming her crossbows at Gardosen. Gardosen held his sword in front of him with the tip pointing at the sky. He glowed with a yellowish-blue light and the bridge began to fall apart around the two of them. "How quickly you forget that this is my domain." Gardosen stopped the crumbling of the bridge when it was nothing but a small islet in a sea of darkness. With Gardosen's ludicrous speed, Lire barely had the space to fire bolts at his blind spots before but now she wouldn't have it even if he only had a normal level of speed. Gardosen raised his sword above his head, "It is time. We shall finish this now." He appeared in front of Lire slashing vertically. Lire dodged to the side and he immediately slid into a horizontal slice. Lire barely avoided his second attack by getting her foot on the ground and pushing into the air. She prepared her crossbows and landed as far away from Gardosen as she could but he was attacking her before she had the chance to make a shot. Lire was caught. She sisn't have enough room to launch an attack and even if she did, she would be killed the moment she stopped to make the attack. Gardosen swung his sword again and Lire dodged barely.

"_What do I do? What can I do?"_ Lire screamed in her mind. She felt a strange feeling within her body. It felt familiar. She remembered this feeling. The last time she felt it was when she was desperate, fighting in the Orc Temple. Lire slid across the ground, stopping just at the edge of the platform. Elesis' face flashed in her mind followed promptly by the image of crushed stone on the bridge. Lire gritted her teeth. Gardosen approached quickly and swung to cleave Lire in two. His sword was reflected as it approached Lire's body. The sword flew from his hand because he was not braced for the invisible shield around Lire. Lire looked up at Gardosen. A green light glowed in front of her and when it disappeared, her mother's bow floated in front of her. She threw the crossbows behind her letting them drop into the darkness below. She reached out and grasped her mother's bow which once again glowed, changing it's shape into two small crossbows."I won't defeat you with weapons borrowed from that worthless man." Lire stated with conviction.

"So you think you can win, do you?"

"I just hope you're ready to die."

"Very well then, I will give you your attack. I will defend myself of course but feel free to attack me."

Lire grinned at Gardosen and raised her new crossbows. They glowed with a dark green light. She began pulling the triggers as fast as she could and small streams of the green energy flew towards Gardosen. He raised his hand in front of him forming a shield. The streams of energy smashed the shield and disappeared. Lire's onslaught of attacks didn't let up and just as she reached her last three shots Gardosen's shield broke. She fired the first two shots. Gardosen barely avoided the first shot but was grazed by the second causing him to slow, allowing the third shot to hit him in the dead centre of his chest. Gardosen let out a low, agonizing scream as energy seared his chest. Lire charged forward reaching her hand towards his chest to grab the marble. Gardosen hit Lire away with hte back of his hand. The attack had stopped and Gardosen's robe around his chest was gone revealing black skin beneath.

"Foolish... girl." Gardosen panted. "Did you... honestly... believe that... a single hit... could defeat... me? Perhaps with a... second." Lire looked down at her crossbows. They weren't being reloaded. She didn't know where they came from but she was out of bolts. "You have noth... ing... left."

Lire closed her eyes and put the crossbows down on the ground. "Your wrong Gardosen. I do have more up my sleeve. I still have a killing attack. An attack that I can only use on you and that you have no ability to avoid."

"What do you... mean?"

"I finally understand my powers. Using the magic my Mother left in her bow I can transform the arrows and bolts around me into pure magical energy. It may not leave me in top shape but it's definetely more effective that just firing the shots normally. While I may not have any bolts left for my bows I still have a weapon left that I can only use on you."

"Where? Where could this weapon be!" Gardosen screamed, sounding flustered for the first time. Lire extended her arm and finger, pointing straight at Gardosen's chest. She closed her eyes.

"Three bolts got stuck in your chest earlier. It's something I can only use on you and something that you have no ability to dodge. No matter where you go, they'll be with you." A slim stream of green energy came out from the front of Gardosen's chest. more beams of energy began coming out of his body, one by one. They grew thicker and stronger.

"No! This is not Possible!" Gardosen screamed as loud as he could. Finally with one last agonizingly painful scream, his body disappeared amidst the green lights. Lire heard something rolling on the ground. A small marble rolled up and hit Lire's boot. She bent over to pick it up. The moment she touched the marble the white light from beneath her clothing shone and she passed out.

* * *

Lire was back in her mind, floating a few feet in front of her was Ydrai. He turned his head to look at her. He looked angry. Ydrai extended his hand, holding the bracelet, to Lire. Lire grabbed but Ydrai didn't let go.

"You did what I couldn't." Ydrai said, sounding upset. "Congratulations ya little jerk." He let go of the bracelet. Lire put it on and felt a rush of new knowledge enter her head.

"So that's where the bolts come from..." She muttered to herself.

"Yeah, good job, you won now get the hell out of here."

"Wait! Do you know what'll happen to Elesis?"

"She's alive." A new voice said from out of nowhere. Lire turned around to find a blonde haired lancer standing there.

"Abastoth?" the lancer nodded.

"Don't worry Elesis is alive and she saw everything that happened. Take her pieces back with you and have your alchemist friend put her back together, before you use the marble. As long as the marble remains, she will stay stone and she can be fixed. But if the marble disappears while she is still in pieces then she truly will die."

"So I have to take her back with me. It'll be a tiring walk back."

"Probably, serves ya right."

"As immature as the stories told, I see."

"Shut up! Look kid, just go and save the world or whatever you wanna do, I don't care just get the other heroes awakened so I can finally move on." Ydrai snapped his fingers and Lire passed out once again.

* * *

Lire awoke on a fixed bridge, as if Gardosen had never created the platform. on her right wrist was the bracelet and clenched in her hand was the marble. She looked at the broken pieces of Elesis. She turned and found that after all that fighting they had barely moved anywhere along the bridge because the bags which they carried food with were no more than a few feet behind her. _"The length of the bridge we fought on was an illusion."_ Then Lire noticed something. There was nothing left of Gardosen and the four bodies of the Lich brothers were gone. She looked down at the marble. Inside hte clear marble a black mist swirled. _"Was everything just an illusion? Were we just fighting in their fantasy?"_ She looked down at the crushed, stone Elesis again before grabbing the satchels and filling them as full as she could, making sure not to miss a single piece. She filled both bags and still had some left to carry. She made sure to securely strap the bags to her back so as not to bring back an Elesis who was missing an arm or ear. She struggled to move under the weight she had to carry but moved on all the same _"She owes me so much." _Lire thought as she left the bridge.

* * *

Phew finally got this chapter done and now I can move on to Ronan's job advance which is a chapter I've been looking forward to since I started the job advances so hopefully I find time to write it quickly. Well you know, review and all that.


	21. Ryu's blood

All right here we are with the next chapter. I know the dragon here is different than in-game but I like this type better

Enjoy

* * *

Ronan drummed his fingers on the windowsill in the pub. He had been staring out the window for the better part of an hour, hoping that one of his companions would appear.

"Ronan! Come and check this stuff for me!" Emil yelled from the back room. Ronan got up and walked to the back room, pulling the list of ingredients from his cloak. He checked over the supplies that Emil had acquired, checking them off the potion list as he went.

"Yeah this is everything." Ronan said putting the list away. "Now all we need is Agano's tooth and Gardosen's marble and we'll be set." Emil dropped into the chair and looked at the roof.

"I can't believe that I spent over two hundred thousand Gold getting everything for one little potion."

"Well it's a powerful potion."

"Yeah I know and it'll be worth it if I can sail again after you kids take out Kaze'aze. I'll need to find the Viridian II before that can happen though."

"Already named your new ship, huh?"

"What, don't you like the name? It's gonna be me, you and Raq sailing the world looking for new discoveries so I hope you like the name."

"Well we have to find the General before that can happen. And even if we do find him we'll probably end up going back to the Kanavan army in the end."

"Oh, come on. You can't be leaving me."

"Let him do as he wants." Mr. Lirios said entering the room. "Everyone has their own dreams. Just as your's is to sail the world and find secrets, Ronan's may be to keep the people of Kanavan safe."

"My only dream is to follow General Grant. He's a great man, serving under him is all I want."

"No good kid, you gotta have more ambition than that. Not saying that Raq's a bad guy but you gotta have your own dream for life, you can't follow him around your whole life. Hearing that you have no dream of your own is really bringing me down."

"Sorry, but even this battle with kaze'aze. I'm only here because Grant told me to."

"Learn to think for yourself kid. What'll you do if Raq decides that you're gonna do something stupid, you just gonna blindly follow him?"

"The General would never make such a mistake, he always knows best!" Emil shook his head and looked back up at the roof. Mr. Lirios approached Ronan.

"Be that as it may, Ronan, you really should learn to think for yourself. Grant's not as young as he used to be and when he goes you'll be lost."

"Please, Grant's a survivor, there's no way I'll outlive him."

"Listen to yourself kid, there's not even any guarantee that Raq's alive right now! He's strong but if he got cornered by Kaze'aze and her minions while he was low on magical energy then even he could be done for."

Ronan didn't say anything, he merely walked out the backdoor. The town was lively earlier but it was beginning to get late now. Ronan headed towards the inn, he needed to rest for an hour or so. hopefully when he woke up someone would be back. When he got to the inn he was greeted by a big smile from the old innkeeper.

"Ronan! Someone was just in here looking for you."

"Who was it? Are Elesis and the others back?"

"No no, wasn't any of them. It was an older man. He had on a lot of black armor and he had a sword, said he was looking for you."

"Black Armor!Did he say where I could meet him!" The innkeeper looked up at the ceiling trying to remember exactly what the man had said.

"He said that if you came back I should send you to the... uh, the outskirts? Yes that's right! He said he'd be at the outskirts of town to the west." Ronan started dashing towards the door before the old man had finished speaking.

"Thank's Mr. Darli!" He yelled behind him as he went out the door. Ronan ran as fast as he could to the western outskirts of town. When he got there he saw exactly who he had been hoping for.

"Uncle Raq!" Ronan screamed at the top of his lungs. Grant turned and smiled at Ronan.

"Ronan, I'm glad I've finally found you." Ronan literally jumped into the General's arms.

"I'm so glad that you're still alive." Ronan choked out, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Now calm down Ronan." Ronan pushed himself away and wiped his eyes. "So tell me Ronan how has it been going while I was away."

"Oh, we found the sixth and seventh of us but we need a potion before we can get the seventh to join us because, well, he's possessed by Kaze'aze. Right now everyone else is out collecting ingredients. As soon as we free the seventh we should be able to infiltrate Kaze'aze's castle."

"Everyone's out getting ingredients? So you're the only one in town for now?" Ronan nodded. "I see, so tell me, how fares the awakening of the seven heroes?"

"When everyone left only Karina and Abastoth had been awakened, but it's been almost half a day since they left so who knows how many more are awakened."

"I see."

"So Uncle Raq, Where were you all this time?"

"Well after I destroyed the statue I was transported to Kaze'aze's castle by way of magic. Naturally I was quite pleased when Kaze'aze informed me of your survival."

"So you escaped and came to find us!"

"Not at all." Grant's expression darkened. "I was dispatched by my mistress to finish the job."

Ronan's eyes widened and he took several steps back. "What?"

"When Kaze'aze was informed of your survival by Agano she was rather displeased with my failure and sent me to finish the job. Naturally, I was also appalled at my own failure."

"What are you saying, Uncle Raq? That's a r-really bad joke."

"It's not a joke Ronan, I was sent to kill you. Although I can't say I want to."

"Huh?"

Grant extended his hand to Ronan. "Come Ronan, join me and Mistress Kaze'aze. It is wonderful, you will never have to fear your death and when we are finished we will be the ones with control over the world."

"What are you saying?"

"Ronan do you remember the time you told me that you would follow me whatever decision I make because..."

"Because there is no chance of you making the wrong decision." Ronan finished what Grant was saying, as he remembered the day he had said it.

"Come Ronan. Come with us." Grant extended his hand again. Ronan looked at the hand for a moment. His eyes grew hollow. He extended his hand to take Grant's. "Yes Ronan, come with us and together we shall push the worthless out of the way and create our world. A world made only for the people who made the wise choice to take it." Ronan's eyes returned to normal and he snapped back to reality. He slapped Grant's hand away.

"What the hell are you saying!" He screamed. "I always followed you because you always put the citizens of Kanavan first! All you ever wanted was to allow the people to live happily and now you're talking about destroying them! You're not General Grant!"

Grant shook his head sadly. "A pity Ronan. I was hoping you would understand just how profitable it would be to join me and that's why I extended this invitation to you and only you. And now you've wasted the only chance you will ever receive." Grant drew his sword and pointed it at Ronan. "Draw your sword. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth to kill you, unresisting."

Ronan drew his sword slowly, he was clearly frightened. Ronan held his sword in front of him taking the same stance as Grant. Grant made the first move. He dashed forward swinging his sword horizontally. Ronan raised his sword to block and the impact sent him flying. He landed several meters away. Grant took initiative immediately dashing forward and launching 5 weak attacks in succession. Despite the fact that these attacks were weak by Grant's standards, each attack made Ronan's arms numb as he blocked them. Grant shook his head. "Come Ronan I thought you were better than that. I thought that you would be a worthy opponent. Although I have no qualms if you just want to lie down and die, my job will be done, either way." He pointed his sword at Ronan. "Lightning blade." A bolt of blue lightning jumped from Grant's blade. Ronan dove to the side. The bolt hit the ground turning the dirt black. "So you dodged one. No matter." Grant charged Ronan again. Ronan jumped back to create distance between himself and Grant. He charged magical energy into his hand. Grant looked up and smirked at Ronan.

"I guess I have to use this now. Lunatik force!" Ronan screamed as he shoved his arm forward releasing the small crystal of ice. It wasn't very big but it would explode into dozens of shredding icicles upon impact. Grant didn't even try to dodge the attack. He raised his hand, opened his palm and caught the small crystal without releasing it. He swung his arm back behind his head and threw the attack back at Ronan. It moved three times as fast as when Ronan shot it and he barely had time to avoid it before it exploded on the ground. Standing behind the icicles, which blocked him from Grant's sight he raised his arm to the sky. A red energy glowed in his palm. He pushed his arm down towards the ground. "Blast Bomb!" Ronan saw a giant ball of fire fall ont he other side of the icicles. He heard the familiar explosion indicating that it had hit it's mark. Ronan again charged energy into his hand and extended it up his arm. He swung his arm back. "Holy Blessing!" Ronan's sword glowed blue. He dashed around the icicles to meet Grant. Just as he rounded, Grant appeared in front of him swinging his sword down on Ronan. Ronan raised his sword to block. Thanks to the magical energy Ronan had infused into his sword and arm he took the blow without damage but the magic dissipated immediately. Grant jumped back to the charred ground where Ronan's bomb had hit.

"This is all you can muster?" Grant asked sounding disappointed. "I had thought your father and I had trained you better. I'm beginning to question why I ever extended my invitation to you in the first place." Grant pulled his arm back and charged the blue, icy energy into it. The energy charge barely took a fifth of the time Ronan's took. "This is how you cast a spell. Lunatik force!" Grant yelled as he swung his arm. He released more than ten of the ice crystals in a horizontal arch. Ronan jumped back, turning in mid-jump and ran. Each of the ice crystals were moving at least five times as fast as Ronan's and anyone with a small understanding of magic would know that each was also ten times as powerful. Ronan could feel the icy force as the crystals exploded on the ground behind him. His breath froze in his throat. He kept moving until he could breathe properly. He turned to check how close Grant was. Grant was quite distant, standing atop the the enormous clusters of icicles which he created. He raised his arm to the sky and charged glowing red energy into it. "Blast Bomb!" He yelled as he pushed his arm down. Twenty to thirty meteors came raining down from the sky. The meteors moved at various speeds. Ronan watched the meteors to determine where they'll land and when. As Ronan dodged the meteors he heard Grant yell in the distance, "Lightning Blade!" Ronan glanced at Grant for a moment. He was holding his sword above his head and the sky above the entirety of the wastelands went dark. Lightning began to fall on Ronan's position. Ronan dodged the lightning as best he could while also avoiding the meteors. Ronan was doing well but he was slowing down and his strength was failing him. Finally the last meteor fell and at the same time, the lightning stopped. Ronan finally had a chance to breathe and survey his surroundings. Grant had trapped him. Grant had used the lightning to push Ronan into the proper spot and then encircled him with the fire from the meteors. On the other side of the enormous wall of flames Ronan saw Grant, smirking. "Feel honored Ronan, I shall finish you off with the spell I have only used on my strongest of opponents." Grant raised his sword, aiming the blade towards the ground. Grant shoved the sword into the ground. s small red ring appeared within the flame encirclement and began to grow. it grew until every spot within the flame walls was covered. "Goodbye Ronan, Incineration!" Grant yelled as an enormous pillar of flame rose within the blazing wall. Grant finally looked up to see Ronan's cloak turning to ash within the pillar. After enough time had passed that Grant was certain Ronan was dead, he stopped the spell. He put out the wall of flame next and walked into the center. The area he had incinerated was completely charred. There was nothing and no one within the black area. "So he turned to ash." Grant muttered, pleased with himself. Grant began preparing the seal which would return him to the castle when he felt something behind him. He spun and used his sword to defend against Ronan's attack. The two swords ground together. "You're crazy," Grant said without losing his air of superiority. "I can't believe you actually ran through that wall of flames." Ronan looked rahter worse for wear. His cloak was gone, burned in the pillar and his hair was singed with several black spots. His tunic and pants were falling apart and his skin was burned in various places. "Why don't you just die!"

"Because I won't die until I defeat you. I won't let myself die until you're dead to." Grant put more force into his sword and Ronan quickly began getting overpowered. a small light began to shine beneath Ronan's clothes. Ronan looked into Grant's eyes. "I adored you. I wanted to be like you and, failing that, help you. You always put the citizens of Kanavan first. You had power but you didn't use it for your own needs, never for yourself. You always fought for the people who couldn't win. Grant, I adored you and I refuse to allow you to disgrace yourself any further. The light grew to a blinding flash and the world before Ronan's eyes went white.

* * *

Ronan opened his eyes. He was in a world of pure white.

"Welcome." A kind and serene voice greeted him. Ronan turned around to see a tall man with short red hair. He was covered in brilliant, silver armour and on his back was a weapon which looked like a greatsword blade attached to spear-like shaft. "I am Ryu the dragon knight."

"I am Ronan spell knight of Kanavan, but I guess you knew that." Ryu nodded. "So am I here to get new power." Ryu nodded again. "What kind of power is it."

Ryu walked up to Ronan slowly. He put his arm on Ronan's shoulder. "Just close your eyes and relax." Ronan did as instructed. "Hold your arm up, straight in front of you." Ronan obeyed. After a few short moments he felt a stinging sensation in his arm. His eyes shot open. Ryu was holding his shoulder with their arms overlapping. On the ground was the armour that had originally been on Ryu's arm and hand. But the thing Ronan noted most was that on the ground was a blood-stained dagger and Ryu had cut both his own arm and Ronan's. Ryu's blood was dripping down his arm and into Ronan's wound. Ronan instinctively pulled away but Ryu's grip was to strong, preventing Ronan from moving. After a short time Ryu pulled away from Ronan. Both the mens wounds closed and scarred instantly. "That is your scar that proves you hold dragon blood."

"Dragon blood?"

"You are to become a dragon knight. You may have thought that as a dragon knight you would control dragons, but your wrong. A dragon knight is family to dragons not their master. If you don't understand and respect this then our brothers will turn and destroy you. And that is why we show and seal our bonds by mixing our own blood with dragon blood." Ronan looked at the newly acquired scar.

"This is a dragon scar?" Ryu nodded.

"Take this." Ryu said as he handed Ronan a necklace with a tooth hanging on it. "This is the tooth of my dragon brother. With it, he will help you and you will have my knowledge." Ronan took the necklace and put it around his neck. His sword glowed and transformed into the same, oddly shaped glaive. "Good luck."

"Wait, please. Why, why am i suddenly worthy of your power?"

"Your power to protect that which you hold most precious."

"What?"

"When I was training I had an instructor, my father. He meant everything to me and I wanted to be just like him. You share similar emotions towards that general. Ronan, I felt a kindred spirit with you and that's why I have decided that I will aid you in your wish to stop Grant from disgracing his name."

"I see, thank you Ryu." Ryu nodded.

"Stop him. Our brother will be happy to help you now that you share our blood. Good luck." Ryu clapped his hands and Ronan passed out.

* * *

Ronan appeared with an eruption of power, breaking the lock between their swords and throwing Grant back a couple of feet. Grant held his sword ready, prepared to destroy Ronan as soon as possible. Ronan stood with a much different stance than before. He held his glaive over his shoulder, with the tip of the blade touching the ground. Grant didn't look fazed at the new weapon or Ronan's new power.

"A new weapon, new skills, none of that will help you when you were so far behind." Grant charged forward, swinging his sword. Ronan held his glaive in front of him to receive the attack. The glaive was much heavier and larger than his previous sword so it took the attack well, without problems. Grant jumped back and charged lightning into his blade. "You can't beat me Ronan, just give up. Lightning blade!" Grant threw his arm forward releasing the lightning at Ronan. Ronan blocked the lightning with his left arm, which held the scar. "What just happened!"

"You can't harm me with fire and lightning at that level, Grant. This arm holds the highest concentration of dragon's blood, the elements won't harm it unless they are in very high concentration."

"Fine then, I'll just take that arm off." Grant charged forward again. He moved seamlessly, dancing around Ronan until he reached a point where he could attack without Ronan being able to defend and swung his sword. His sword ground on the glaive, which Ronan was holding over his shoulder and behind his back. Despite the fact that he had managed to guard the attack, the stance was impractical and his strength was failing him.

"please brother, help me!" Ronan screamed to the sky while attempting to hold of Grant's attack. A bolt of lightning was heard in the distance and a large orb of energy flew from the sky towards Grant. Grant stopped his attack and avoided it, just barely. Ronan was grazed, but completely unhurt. A roar was heard from the sky and a giant, snake-like dragon descended upon them. It flew in close to Ronan, who jumped and landed on it's large head. Ronan's balance was perfect as he rode atop the head of the dragon. "Now, Grant, feel the strength of my new brother, Shinryu!" The dragon opened it's mouth and breathed fire over the plains where Grant was standing. He barely avoided the attack. Grant stood steady ready to dodge any attack. "Shinryu!" Ronan screamed. The connection between the two is strong despite the fact that they only just met, so much so that his name is all Shinryu needs to fully understand Ronan. Ronan jumped from Shinryu's head, landing on the ground and immediately charged at Grant. He swung his glaive at Grant. Grant blocked each attack with ease. Meanwhile Shinryu circles around in the sky, turning so that he could have a direct shot at Grant. Shinryu did not breath fire or launch the orbs of energy but instead he charged at Grant, bearing his fangs and claws. Grant pushed away from Ronan for long enough to charge some energy into his right hand. As Shinryu approached he pushed his arm forward. "Increase gravity!" Shinryu was forced into the ground by the spell and held there. Ronan came from behind Grant, swinging his glaive. Grant turned and, using his left arm blocked Ronan's attack. Ronan and Grant began exchanging blows, though Grant used only his indominant left hand,while keeping his glowing right hand aimed at Shinryu.

"Sorry, Grant but you've lost."

"Fool, even in this condition, I won't lose to the likes of you!"

"Consider your situation, Grant! You can't use your right arm because as soon as you release your spell, Shinryu will tear you to shreds. Not just that but thanks to my new abilities and weapon you don't have the physical power to defeat me, especially when you can't use your dominant arm." Ronan hit Grant's sword with his glaive and the two weapons ground together. Ronan put more and more power into his weapon, pushing Grant closer to Shinryu. Grant never dropped his hand. "Grant... Uncle Raq. I still adore you, the previous you, the you who always fought for people. I want him back. What happened to you?"

"Don't you see? No matter how much we soldiers fight for the people we'll always be expected to continue fighting until the day we die so some ignorant simpletons, who refuse to protect themselves, can live freely. To many people believe that the freedom we live and die for is their right! They expect it from us while they're free and the moment we lose they do naught but hurl insults! That's why I have joined Kaze'aze. I will help create a world where only those who reach out and claim it for themselves can be free, all others are expendable."

"Listen to yourself! How can you say that? When I was growing up you would always tell me about the worth of a single life. How everyone had their roles and yours was as a soldier." Ronan pushed harder and harder against Grant's sword. "Where is that man? The man who cared for each and every life in this world. So much so that he was happy, no honored, to fight and risk his life to protect them. Where is that man? I want my Uncle Raq, but all I can see right now is Grant, the most pitiful excuse of a man I've ever met!" Grant's eyes widened at Ronan's words. "No matter what happens here, I love you, I adore you and I will uphold your good name by stopping you from destroying it!" Ronan broke the stalemate breaking Grant's grip on his sword and causing him to release the spell on Shinryu. The moment Shinryu was free, it charged forward and grabbed Grant in it's teeth. He dragged Grant away from Ronan dropping it on the ground. He then proceeded to claw at Grant excessively. After he was satisfied he flew back to Ronan's side. Ronan was on his knee panting heavily due to the amount of energy it takes to keep Shinryu in his world. He looked at the bloody body and shattered armour of Grant in the distance. From behind he heard a slow mocking clap. He turned around to find the silver-haired boy standing behind him, eyes glowing white, clapping his hands.

"Congratulations." The boy said in Kaze'aze's voice. "I will admit that I was pleased when Grant asked to join me. Although now I regret ever accepting him as he failed every single job I gave him. He didn't destroy the seals, releasing the seven heroes. Even when I granted him control of a statue of Partusay he couldn't get rid of you and your friends. I gave him one last chance and all he had to do was kill you, the one whom he trained, the one who's every weakness he knew and yet, he still failed. He was a detestable failure until the very end."

"Shut up..." Ronan said softly.

"What was that, boy?" Kaze'aze asked angrily.

"Shut up! Don't you dare talk about him like that!" Ronan looked up with tears in his eyes and pointed at Kaze'aze. "Please Shinryu!" Shinryu flew forward bearing his fangs but just as he approached Kaze'aze his body disappeared from the world. Ronan fell back to his knees. He no longer had the necessary energy to keep his brother in this world.

"Foolish boy." Kaze'aze drew one of her daggers and pointed it at Ronan. She charged her own magical energy into the dagger. The dagger was surrounded by the blue aura which took the form of a much larger and sharper, glowing dagger. "Die, boy." Kaze'aze charged with the dagger ready to kill. Ronan didn't even have enough energy to move let alone fight, he closed his eyes and awaited that which he knew was coming. He heard the dagger pierce flesh, yet he felt no pain. He opened his eyes, directly in front of his face was the blood stained tip of the glowing, blue dagger. Past the dagger, with the dagger through his chest, stood Grant. He turned his head the slightest amount and made a small pained smile at Ronan.

"In the end, the life that I had to end at all costs, was the only life which I couldn't let end. Ronan, I always loved you as if you were my own son. Thank you." Kaze'aze pulled the dagger from his chest and Grant fell, lifeless, to the ground. Ronan looked down at the body. Tears filled his eyes so that he could no longer see anything clearly.

"How touching." Kaze'aze said venomously. "Now, why don't you join him." Kaze'aze raised the glowing dagger above her head. Just as she was about to bring down the dagger a small orb of energy came out of the sky, hitting her arm and knocking the dagger away. Kaze'aze looked to the sky and watched as a flying creature land behind Ronan. "The Nephilim?"

The Nephilim folded in it's wings and glowed as it changed shape, becoming Ryan. Ryan reached behind his back, grabbing his crescent blade, and pointed the tip at Kaze'aze. "Don't even think about it. I'll be your opponent."

* * *

Phew, I'm quite pleased about how quickly I got this chapter out but I've been looking forward to it ever since I decided on Grant so... tell me what you think. See you all next chapter.


	22. The seventh hero released

Phew, I managed to find some time to write.

Shinice: The short answer is no, Mari and Dio have no part in this story. The long answer is that I started writing this story back when Muse was still new in my version. Before I started posting it, Jin and Silverland were released so I worked him into the story (Appearing later but not a part of the main group). I then scrambled to find a spot for Siegfreid after he was released (If he wasn't a spirit then he wouldn't be in the story either, truth is he took the spot of an OC) when Mari came out I just said screw it, I'm not doing any more rewrites then I just ignored Dio and of course by that logic I won't be finding a place for Zero either. Apologies to anyone hoping to see them in the story. On one other note it is possible for me to add them to the story, however they will be normal humans (Dio won't be a demon) with no abilities or fighting prowess. Would you still like to see them under this condition.

Enjoy.

* * *

Ryan stood ready on the outskirts of Orinig. Behind him was Ronan, about to pass out, as well as the corpse that was once General Grant of Kanavan. In front of him stood the seventh, unnamed chosen, possessed by Kaze'aze. Ryan raised his crescent blade, holding it horizontally in front of him, prepared to block any attack or launch his own. Ryan had to use his alternate form in order to prevent Kaze'aze from killing Ronan so Kaze'aze knew that he could become the Nephilim. Normally he would be confident in the Nephilim's power but with Kaze'aze he was forced to be more cautious and the lack of surprise for his transformation would make it that much weaker.

Kaze'aze pulled two new daggers from the white robes and held them in front of her, ready to take any attack. Ryan moved first. He charged forward holding his crescent blade in front of him to try to slice Kaze'aze in half. Kaze'aze easily jumped over Ryan's attack and fired a wave of light blue energy down on him. The moment Kaze'aze landed, she turned and attempted to stab Ryan in the back. Ryan kicked off the ground and spun in the air just in time to block the knife from going into his gut. Kaze'aze jumped back and threw another wave of blue energy at Ryan. Ryan rolled to the side to avoid it.

"You've gotten better since the last time I saw you." Kaze'aze mocked.

"I'll beat you Kaze'aze!" Ryan yelled.

"Ryan..." Ronan said shakily from behind Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze turned to glare at him with her emotionless, white eyes. "You can't."

"I know Ronan, don't worry." Ryan reassured him.

"Hmmm, What's this now?" Kaze'aze asked without taking her eyes off Ronan. Ronan grabbed his Glaive and used all his strength to push it defensively in front of him. "Hmph, it's amusing that you think you can stop my attacks like that." Kaze'aze turned her attention back to Ryan. "Of course I'm not fool enough to turn my back on the Nephilim." Ryan held his crescent blade horizontally behind him and crouched, putting his free hand on the ground. He pushed off the ground with his hand and feet and dashed towards Kaze'aze. He swung his blade around his body. Kaze'aze blocked the attack with her dagger. Ryan used his blade to push down on Kaze'aze's dagger and push himself over her head. He spun his body in the air and attacked Kaze'aze again. Kaze'aze used her second dagger to block the attack. Ryan pushed down to the ground and quickly attacked again. Ryan continued to dance around Kaze'aze launching a torrent of attacks with his crescent blade without putting more than a few inches of space between them or leaving more than a half second gap between attacks. Kaze'aze used the boy's thin frame and nimble limbs to carefully block each attack without breaking a sweat. After launching his thirtieth attack Ryan leapt back creating several meters of distance between him and Kaze'aze. Ryan stopped right in front of Ronan.

"Dammit, she's good." Ryan panted. "But I guess I should've known that."

"Just hold out a little longer." Ronan said from behind him. "If we can just hold out until Arme and the others get back then we should be able to get the seventh chosen from Kaze'aze and strike back." Ryan nodded.

"I know, I'll hold her back for as long as I can." Ryan held his weapon defensively in front of him. Kaze'aze held her dagger up and it glowed with blue energy. It grew into the large dagger that she had tried to attack Ronan with earlier. She flew forward at a crazy speed and attacked Ryan with her powered up dagger. Ryan blocked with his crescent blade. Kaze'aze's pushed her blade into Ryan's but instead of pushing him back as usual, her blade began to go through Ryan's. Ryan's eyes grew wide in surprise as Kaze'aze cut through his weapon. Ryan tried to pull back but he couldn't get his weapon away from Kaze'aze. Ryan finally let go of his weapon and jumped back to get away from her. Kaze'aze shoved her weapon down as hard as she could, cutting Ryan's weapon in half and dropping it to the ground. Ryan looked back at Ronan for a moment before reaching back and ripping the glaive out of Ronan's hand.

"Ryan, you idiot! You have no idea how to use that thing."

"Better than fighting empty handed." Ryan held the handle of the weapon and held it as if he was holding his crescent blade. The blade end of the glaive tipped to the ground and threw off Ryan's balance.

"Moron! You can't hold a glaive like that."

"Shut up!" Ryan yelled as he tried to pick the glaive back up and hold it in his style. He dashed forward holding the shaft of the glaive in both hands with the blade dragging on the ground behind him. He spun in the air and smashed the glaive on the ground as if he was holding his axe. Kaze'aze jumped back from the heavy attack which cracked the ground around Ryan's feet.

"Well I guess that could work." Ronan said looking rather stupified.

"Longer reach and heavier but the blades wrong." Ryan responded.

"Well it's not meant to be used like that!"

"Don't blame me!"

"Who's the one who let her break his weapon!" A flash of blue light lit the air in front of Ryan while he argued with Ronan. Ryan looked down at the glaive as it fell apart in his hands.

"It's much easier when the wielder doesn't resist." Kaze'aze said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Do. something." Ronan seethed venomously. Ryan stepped back from Ronan and moved closer to Kaze'aze. At that point he would rather have hidden behind her than face Ronan.

"If you're done now." Kaze'aze said behind Ryan, sounding very annoyed. "I'd like to continue with your death." Ryan spun around to see that Kaze'aze had lifted her magically infused dagger above her head and was ready to attack him. Ryan jumped back as she swung down. She immediately threw a ball of light blue energy at Ryan. Ryan turned on his heels, dashed towards Ronan and pulled him to the side as the ball of energy flew past them.

"Fine then, I guess this is all I have left." Ryan said as he pushed himself to his feet. he crossed his arms in front of his face and threw them back while yelling at the sky. His body changed into the powerful Nephilim.

"So I finally get to face the Nephilim." Ryan unfolded his wings and flew towards Kaze'aze at high speed. He brought his powerful fist down on Kaze'aze. She caught the fist with her daggers and threw it away. Ryan immediately formed a small ball of clear energy in his hand. He flew into the sky and threw the ball towards Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze jumped back avoiding the ball and threw her own up into the air. Ryan easily dodged the attack. They continued exchanging energy attacks until Ryan followed one of his attacks with his fist clenched. Kaze'aze blocked the ball and jumped out of the way just as Ryan brought his fist down on the ground. Ryan returned to his elven form. "Giving up?" Kaze'aze asked mockingly.

"You wish. I finally have everything ready."

"What?"

"Take a look around you." Kaze'aze looked around. The ground was cracked in the place where Ryan had attacked with the glaive as well as every place that an orb of energy or Ryan's fist had hit the ground. Ryan crouched and raised his fist. "This place is kind of barren but with the help of the Nephilim I still have some power." Ryan punched the ground. "Feel the power of nature!" Ryan punched the ground and trees began to raise from the ground. The trees were not normal. Their branches and vines moved on their own and tried to wrap around Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze nimbly ducked and slipped through the vines, though she was grazed by thorns and received several wounds as she moved through them. She finally escaped the shield of vines and dropped to one knee, panting. The trees behind her began to disappear.

"Damnable human body, damnable stamina limits." Kaze'aze muttered under her breath as she forced the seventh warrior to his feet. Ryan had dropped down to one knee, his energy spent.

"When the hell did you learn that?" Ronan asked, dumbfounded.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm the new avatar of nature." Ronan stared at him. So did Kaze'aze, though, she recovered quickly.

"I don't care who you are." She said calmly. "All will fall before me." Kaze'aze dropped the daggers she had been using until now and pulled out two new daggers. These daggers were completely unadorned, yet looked powerful.

"Looks like she found the kids god blessed weapons." Ronan commented in an attempt to distract himself from the inevitable.

"I think we lose. I don't have enough energy to turn into the Nephilim again and we don't have any weapons." Kaze'aze slowly advanced upon the two warriors. She charged energy into the daggers. She swung her arm back, ready to fire the wave of energy at the two. She stopped. A strange melody surrounded the three. Kaze'aze spun around trying to find the source of the song. As the melody sped up pink energy formed in the ground around Kaze'aze. The energy blasted up from the ground in waves. The first hit Kaze'aze in the back but she nimbly slipped around the others. Kaze'aze spun around and saw Amy standing there with her bow resting on the strings of her violin. Kaze'aze raised her daggers, ready to strike. Amy played another song with a fast tempo. Orbs of pink energy appeared in the air around her and began to pulsate. Kaze'aze dashed towards Amy, prepared to strike with her daggers. Amy continued playing without giving Kaze'aze so much as a look. Kaze'aze swung her dagger and Amy did a side flip over the attack, landing behind Kaze'aze. She never stopped playing for a moment and the longer she played the shorter the time between energy pulses from the orbs became. Amy finished her song and the orbs flew at breakneck speed towards Kaze'aze, who was standing at point blank range. To orbs collided with Kaze'aze, exploding into large blasts of energy around her. Amy had jumped back as soon as she had finished the song, in order to escape the blast radius. She landed next to Ronan and Ryan.

"Amy!" Ronan yelled. Amy turned and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Don't worry, that song can't kill." Ronan calmed down upon hearing that.

"Nice power." Ryan chimed in.

"Don't let her destroy these this time." Arme said coming up behind the three and dropping the repaired weapons at Ronan and Ryan's feet. "And drink these." Arme threw two potions at Ryan and Ronan. "Those will get you back on your feet for awhile but you'll probably pass out in a few hours." Ryan and Ronan downed the potions without hesitation. They were on their feet and holding their weapons almost immediately after finishing the potions.

Ronan looked at his three companions. "Ok, no matter what happens we have to ensure that she doesn't escape before Lire and Elesis arrive with the marble." The others nodded. Ryan charged out before the others to ensure that Kaze'aze was still there. She was. She immediately swung her daggers at Ryan, however her arms were weak due to the damage that the possessed body had taken. Ryan avoided the attacks easily and jumped back to the others.

"Her body is weak. She'll probably try to escape soon so we gotta keep a close eye on her." Ryan turned around and, sure enough, Kaze'aze had taken out one of the seals which Agano had always used to escape. Ronan pointed at her.

"Shinryu!" He yelled as loudly as he could. He felt a wave of magical energy behind him as Shinryu appeared and flew towards Kaze'aze at a ridiculous speed. He wrapped his long, snake-like, body around Kaze'aze to prevent her from moving or using the seal. "Don't kill him brother." Ronan said calmly as he approached the dragon. Ryan walked right next to Shinryu and examined his body.

"So this is the new power you recieved, huh?"

"You're not surprised?"

"I'm the avatar of nature, I see no reason why you shouldn't have a pet dragon." Shinryu's nostrils flared and he snorted at Ryan.

"If you value your life then don't call Shinryu a pet. He's my brother." Kaze'aze's voice spoke up from beneath Shinryu's body.

"Tell me fools, why do you wish to keep this boy alive."

"That's our business, not yours."

"Hmph, I could easily escape back to my castle if I just left this boy behind." Arme crossed her arms and whispered so that Kaze'aze couldn't hear her.

"We need to convince her that she doesn't want to give him to us because if we don't forcefully break her control then she won't weaken and it will be nearly impossible to get through her castle's barrier." Ronan nodded.

"That probably wouldn't be in your best interest." Ronan said with a clear air of superiority. "You give us this boy and I can guarantee you'll regret it."

"The seventh hero, is he?" Ronan clenched his teeth.

"No but he has certain skills that would help us defeat you, easily."

"Very well then. Whether your lying to me or not, it's clear that I can't let you have this boy." A light appeared through the small gaps between Shinryu's body. "A shame really. I had hoped to keep this boy. He was very impressionable and easy to meld to. And I had just finished killing the first part of his mind as well, he would have made an excellent servant." Ronan sensed something was wrong and signaled to the others to get back.

"Shinryu!" he yelled. Shinryu released his grip around Kaze'aze and flew into the sky. Energy exploded from Kaze'aze.

"I will use my magical control to force this boy to fight. I will make him fight, never giving him rest until either you all are dead or he drops dead from exhaustion. I will use every bit of his energy to destroy you and him as well."

Ronan held his glaive in front of him. "Defence only," he said to the other, "Don't hurt him further. Let's hope that Lire and Elesis show up soon. Kaze'aze raised her daggers in front of her body and they began to glow just as they had before. This time, however, they grew several times larger than they had before until Kaze'aze was wielding two shortswords.

"I wish you the best of luck." She said mockingly as she dashed towards Ronan. She was moving faster than before by a ridiculous degree. Just before her attack hit, Shinryu intercepted and blocked the slash with his claw. Kaze'aze jumped back and Ronan returned Shinryu to his home. Kaze'aze looked at Ronan and the others again and laughed. "If you have a plan I suggest doing it now before this boy is drained of his life." The four warriors stood back to back and took defensive stances. Arme created a barrier from leftover materials and surrounded the team with it. Amy began to play a song called the "ballad of defense" which reinforced the barrier. "So you intend to wait it out? No matter, this boy's energy will be drained no matter what you do. Kaze'aze began attacking the barrier relentlessly with her short sword length daggers. The barrier absorbed the attacks. Arme worked hard to restore the barrier as it was being destroyed. Kaze'aze stopped her attacks for a moment to jump back and swing her arm back. She attacked with a much more powerful attack than the prior and the barrier shattered, causing a blast of energy to fly at the warriors within. Ronan opened his eyee. The tip of Kaze'aze's dagger was directly in front of his eyes. Ronan's breath became ragged. "Any last words, young knight of Kanavan?"

Ronan's eyes darted around. To his right Amy and Ryan were passed out on the ground. On his left, Arme was trying to force herself to her feet with little luck. Ronan's eyes finally rested on something. Behind Kaze'aze he saw the corpse of general Grant. The man he respected above any other and the man who saved Ronan's life at the cost of his own. Ronan felt a warm energy within his chest. "Kaze'aze, recieve what you deserve." The warm energy within Ronan's chest burst out form his body creating an explosion of magic with him as the centre. Kaze'aze went flying backwards and slid along the ground. Ronan fell to the ground and passed out, his energy spent.

Arme downed the potion she had just finished creating and pushed to her feet. She saw Kaze'aze approaching the others. "Kaze'aze!" She yelled. "Don't take another step!" Kaze'aze turned her head towards Arme and smiled. She raised the large daggers in front of her.

"Fine then. You die first." Kaze'aze charged towards Arme. Arme put her cauldron on the ground and tilted the mouth towards Kaze'aze. She put her hand on the lid of the cauldron. She could feel the energy beneath the lid. Arme ripped the lid off the cauldron with all the power she could and lava spilled out, rushing towards Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze stopped and raised a barrier around her as she was submerged in the lava.

"Arme!" A voice yelled at her from behind. Arme left the cauldron so the lava would continue to flow and spun around to see Lire standing behind her. She was panting heavily and half of her top had been ripped off.

"What happened to you!"

"Over here quick!" Arme left the cauldron and followed Lire. They stopped in front of two backpacks filled with rocks and another group of rocks which were resting on the other half of Lire's top.

"What's this."

"Elesis, she got turned to stone and destroyed. But if you use alchemy to put her back in her original form before we use the marble then she'll be ok."

"Well the others are all passed out so you have to hold Kaze'aze off while I get everything done. But Kaze'aze figured out our plan and is trying to exhaust the boy's energy, you can't hurt him further. I'll work as fast as I can so try to stop her from harming the others." Lire nodded and reached into her pocket.

"Here's the marble. Remember to fix Elesis first. I'll get the orc tooth off of Ryan and get it to you so focus on Elesis for now." Arme nodded and ran to grab her cauldron. Lire charged toward Ryan and got the tooth. She threw it to Arme and she released the lava which had greatly slowed. Lire drew her crossbows. "What about the other ingredients?" Lire asked before the lava ended.

"Emil was getting them so I'll probably have to run to the pub. I'll make the potion as soon as possible and get back here." Lire nodded and turned back to see that the lava had passed and Kaze'aze had dropped her shield.

"Another one? Perhaps I should have let that lava kill him." Lire raised her crossbows. "Well if I can exhaust you then I can send Agano to finish the job. Let's go." Kaze'aze fired bullets of energy at Lire who jumped back avoiding half of them and shooting the others out of the sky. "You're surprisingly accurate. Impressive." Kaze'aze charged forward to slash at Lire who jumped back to dodge. Lire used her arm to spin around and fired a few bolts meant to aggravate Kaze'aze. "You seem to think you're playing with me. I assure you that no matter how much I fight this body will continue fighting at full efficiancy. Well until it drops dead, that is." Lire dashed forward, shoved her hands on the ground and spun around sweeping Kaze'aze's legs out from beneath her. Kaze'aze easily recovered and swung her blades, releasing energy waves at Lire. Lire jumped back avoiding them. Kaze'aze immediately released more energy waves at Lire before she hit the ground. Lire spun around and charged her energy into her crossbows, firing off two blasts of green energy which pushed her up and out of the energy waves path. Lire landed on the ground and aimed her crossbows at Kaze'aze.

"An interesting ability you have. Although since you don't seem to want to harm me it will prove quite useless her." Lire clenched her teeth and dashed towards Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze met Lire's dash with her dagger. Lire slipped to the side causing the dagger to do nothing more than graze her arm. Lire immediately turned and wrapped her arm around Kaze'aze's right arm, preventing her from using that dagger. Afterwards, she aimed her crossbow at Kaze'aze's left hand. She fired a bolt at point blank range and knocked Kaze'aze's second dagger out of her hand. Lire swung her body around and wrapped her leg around Kaze'aze's left arm forcing it to Kaze'aze's side. "Your quite flexible for an archer. It's impressive although you need to learn how to determine your opponents strength before doing something like this." Kaze'aze broke her left arm free from Lire's leg. Energy formed in Kaze'aze's left arm and she pushed it into Lire's chest. She released the energy, causing Lire to fly back and slide across the field. Lire tried to force herself back to her feet but none of her limbs would move and she was having a hard time breathing. Kaze'aze approached Lire, smiling. Lire lay helpless on the ground as Kaze'aze approached her. Kaze'aze raised her dagger.

"Kaze'aze!" An angry voice came from behind her. Kaze'aze pivoted swinging her dagger in front of her, blocking Elesis' spear.

"So the sixth finally appears. If I can weaken you as well then I can kill this boy without even then slightest bit of doubt in my mind. I only hope this body survives long enough to finish you." Elesis lifted her spear back and held it over her shoulder, the tip aiming towards Kaze'aze and resting on her hand.

"Try it if you think you can."

"Elesis, y-you can't... f-finish her." Lire managed to stutter out. "Just h-hold her... b-back."

"I'll do my best." Elesis dashed forward, lunging her spear at Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze blocked it with her one remaining dagger and kicked Elesis in her stomach causing her to stumble backwards. Kaze'aze dashed past Elesis and retrieved her second dagger. She recharged the energy into it, returning it to the size of a short sword. Aimed her spear at Kaze'aze again.

"I thought you children didn't want to hurt this body. Yet you attack quite aggressively."

"The others all have their magic or abilities which could help them in that. But all I have is speed and power and that's what I'll use."

"I see. Well then come at me!" Kaze'aze dashed towards Elesis. Elesis dashed towards Kaze'aze. They both stopped just in front of the other and attacked, clashing their weapons together. They both turned and dashed away from each other. Both stopped and did jackknife turns, dashing towards each other again. They clashed their weapons together again. This time Lire pushed off the ground launching herself into the air. She spun around aiming the tip of her spear at Kaze'aze and fell towards her. Kaze'aze didn't move this time. She looked up at the spear and opened her arms making herself a bigger target. Just before reaching Kaze'aze, Elesis swung her spear up to avoid hitting Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze grinned evilly and launched a kick straight up, hitting Elesis square in the back. Elesis dropped to the ground and pushed back to her feet. She stumbled back.

"Dammit, I'm still stiff from the petrification."

"You lose Daughter of Eiau."

"You lose!" Elesis yelled as she pushed forward and tackled Kaze'aze with her spear held horizontally in front of her. She pushed back on Kaze'aze without overpowering her even slightly.

Kaze'aze grinned evilly, "I'm not even using any power to hold you back like this. Just give up!" There was a subtle sound behind Kaze'aze. She turned her head to see Lire aiming one of her crossbows at her. "Please feel free to try." Lire changes the angle of the attack firing the bolt directly above Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze's head instinctively shot up. Elesis dropped her lance and wrapped her arms around Kaze'aze. Lire shot the bolt. The sun blinded Kaze'aze as she looked up. The bolt flew into the line of the sun disappearing from Kaze'aze's sight. There was a distinct sound of shattering glass. Kaze'aze's eyes grew wide as she tried to get out of Elesis' grip though because of her confusion her power had reverted and the boy's body had almost no energy left. The strange yellow liquid rained down upon Elesis and Kaze'aze. Elesis released Kaze'aze and stepped back. Kaze'aze grabbed her head and screamed to the sky. A large mass of black energy flew out of the boy's body and the boy collapsed on the ground. Lire smiled slightly and passed out. Elesis grabbed her arm and stumbled, falling down although she stayed conscious.

"Elesis!" Arme ran up to her. "Your ok!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. We won this battle." Elesis looked at the unconcious boy lying on the shield.

Mr. Lirios! he's over here!" Mr. Lirios walked up and threw the boy over his shoulder then he walked over and picked Lire up under his arm. Behind him there were two men from town as well as Emil all of them were carrying one of the other four warriors. "Let's go Elesis were going to put them all in rooms at the inn. Mr. Lirios don't forget to tie the new boy's arms and legs, just incase." Mr. Lirios nodded and started to head back to town. Emil and the other men followed him. Arme helped Elesis to her feet and grabbed her cauldron. "Let's head back, we need our rest as well."

Elesis nodded, "Yeah. Hey Arme."

"What is it."

"Elesis turned and pull up her hair so Arme could see her ear. "Why am I missing a piece of my ear? And the palm of my right hand to?"

Arme looked at Elesis for a moment "... Blame Lire."

"Fair enough, let's go."

* * *

Dear lord that took a long time though I'm very happy that I was finally able to get this stupid chapter done. I won't be writing for the next month or so because it's approaching the end of my semester and I gota get my research papers and such done. Although it's possible the teachers will strike and if that happens then I'll have some free time which will be nice. Well I'll get it done when I can.


	23. Preparations

Bah. A lot happened which stopped me from writing, mainly it was a bad case of writers block. To make things worse I had this done a while ago and forgot to post it so enjoy a two chapter update.

Raz: I thought about it and found a place for Mari and Dio's appearance with their power. It will be at a very late point in the story (During the final 10 or 11 chapters and their parts will be quite small) but they will be there.

Enjoy

* * *

Elesis and Arme stumbled their way back to the town along with Mr. Lirios, Emil and the other townsmen. Mr. Lirios ensured that everyone was bandaged properly before putting them in the beds and letting them rest. Before he allowed the newly freed seventh hero to rest he ensured that his arms and legs were tied and chained for the off chance that the potion hadn't worked. After ensuring that the lives of all of their companions were safe, Elesis and Arme fell asleep as well. While the warriors slept, Emil and Lirios dealt with lose ends and, at Arme's request, weapon maintenance on the glaive and crescent blade.

The next morning, the first one awake was Arme. She rolled over in her bed to find Elesis sleeping peacefully with no sign of waking up. Arme reached forward and pinched Elesis' nose. Elesis head moved only slightly. _"I guess being turned to stone drained her energy." _Arme pulled herself out of the bed and rubbed her eyes. She looked at Lire and Amy, who were sleeping peacefully in the other bed that was in the room. She shook her head and left the room. She walked next door to the boy's room to make sure that nothing was wrong with them. The door was slightly ajar so she slowly pushed it open and looked inside. In one bed Ronan and Ryan were sleeping. Ryan looked fine though Ronan's brow was furrowed and his head was shaking, as if he was having a bad dream. In the other bed was the unnamed warrior. His arms and legs were chained together and he was panting heavily. Arme walked into the room and put the back of her hand on his forehead. He didn't have a fever. Arme didn't have any medical knowledge beyond that so she went downstairs to find Mr. Darli, the innkeeper. Darli went up to check on him but assured Arme that there was nothing wrong with him and it was most likely just a reaction from having Kaze'aze expelled from his body recently.

"All right then. I'm going to go to the pub and speak to Mr. Lirios and Emil. Send anyone who wakes up to us." Mr. Darli nodded and sent Arme on her way. Arme arrived at the pub which, for some reason, was still closed. She walked in to find Mr. Lirios and Emil asleep with their heads on one of the tables. Ronan and Ryan's weapons were sitting on the table next to them. Arme examined the weapons first. Afterwards she woke up the sleeping men.

"Mmmghhgh." Emil grunted as he woke up. "that you Arme? Ugh, what time is it? What was I drinking last night?"

"Yes, midday, and I don't know, in that order."

"I think we had some Kirik tonic before we passed out." Mr. Lirios told him while holding his own head.

Emil grabbed his head with both hands. "That explains the hangover." Mr. Lirios walked into the back and came back with two small bottles.

"Urashin was probably one of the hardest drinker I've ever seen so he invented this." He said as he handed one to Emil. "Drink it." Mr. Lirios downed his and came up smiling. Emil did the same and he was in good condition as well.

"These are amazing. How the hell do you make them?"

"I'd need Urashin's magic."

"Well that's a downer. Anyways Arme what are you here for?"

Arme was annoyed by the two idiots but she brushed it off. "Just came to see how everything went last night. Did you two get everything that we needed."

"Of course we did." Emil answered happily. "So how's everyone else doing?"

"Still sleeping. All the girls seem ok but Ronan looked troubled and the new boy seemed like he was sick, although Mr. Darli said it was just a reaction to having Kaze'aze expelled from his body."

"Fair enough but I'll go and check on them, I want to talk to Ronan when he wakes up anyway."

"Ok, see you later Emil." Emil nodded and headed out the door. "So tell me how everything went then, we need to be ready, we don't have much time to get into Kaze'aze's castle."

* * *

Emil walked to the inn at a leisurely pace. He greeted the old innkeeper and headed up to the rooms. He started by checking on the girls. They were still asleep and it didn't look like there were any troubles so he closed the door and headed over to the boys room. In the boys room, Ryan was sleeping soundly. The unnamed hero was sleeping peacefully on the other bed. Ronan had awoken and was staring out the window.

"You're up?"

"Yeah."

"How do you feel?"

"Fine."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Yesterday."

"Do you know how to say more than one word at a time?"

"Not in the mood for jokes."

"Thinking about Raq?"

"Yeah."

"Come with me." Emil grabbed the front of Ronan's cloak and dragged him out of the room. he dragged him through the town until they reached a small area of houses near the edge of town.

"Why are we here?" Emil walked up to an old, boarded up house.

"This is the house I used to live in back when I first met Raq. Come around back." Ronan followed Emil around to the back of the house. Behind the house was a simple grave with no name or inscription. "I took the liberty of burying Raq here. I know that he probably should have been buried in Kanavan but I knew that we probably wouldn't have been able to get him back anytime soon. Sorry if I overstepped my limits."

"No it's fine. You were Grant's best friend, I'm sure being buried in the place where you two first met would make him happy. Besides I don't think he would want to be buried in Kanavan anyways."

"What are you talking about? He dedicated his life to protecting Kanavan, why would he prefer to be buried anywhere else."

"I'm going to tell you something that I don't want you to tell anyone else, ever. It's a secret that you and I take to our graves." Emil nodded. "He wasn't trying to protect the people of Kanavan, that was an excuse. He had been working with Kaze'aze. In fact, the reason he reappeared was because he had come to kill me."

"If you're trying to make me angry, then you're doing a good job."

"It's not something I want to think about either but he told me this personally. He was sick of the way people treated the soldiers who fought for them and he decided to do something about it. He just did it in the wrong way."

"I'm warning you Ronan..."

"So he joined Kaze'aze and sank the Viridian in an attempt to kill us all, they just didn't count on Partusay's interference. Grant wasn't a hero, and he wouldn't want to be buried in Kanavan anyway..." Emil grabbed the front of Ronan's cloak and pulled him up so they were face to face.

"Dammit Ronan! I don't know what the hell you think happened but there's now way that's true. Grant was a good man, better than any other I've ever seen!"

"I beat him. I fought him and he died because of me."

"If you're going to keep talking then you had better have your teeth clenched."

"I beat him, though he left me with absolutely no energy and I was seriously wounded. He was seriously trying to kill me." Emil clenched his teeth and punched Ronan in the face. Ronan fell to the ground and wiped the blood off his lip. "He wanted to kill me and I almost killed him. I didn't want to kill him. But Kaze'aze appeared after Grant lost and she wanted me dead. She called Grant a worthless servant and she was about to kill me." Emil swung his fist back again. "She stabbed at me and... and," tears flowed from Ronan's eyes. "Grant jumped in front of me, even though he shouldn't have been able to move." Emil slowly lowered his fist and tears began forming in his eyes as well. "If he hadn't protected me then he may have survived." Emil gently pushed Ronan down on the ground and then sat opposite him, tears streaming down both their faces.

"Ronan, I'm sorry for punching you. But you shouldn't be sad for Raq. He would've been happy that his life was used to save yours. At least, the Raq that I knew would be happy."

"Uncle Raq would be happy. But the Grant that I met on that field wouldn't have been. I can't get him out of my head."

"Ronan... you're a soldier, you fought knowing that you or Raq could die at any moment, didn't you? You seem to be taking this harder than you should, you know that Grant's death, in the end, was something that most soldiers can only wish for."

"It's not that he's dead, it's the way he died. Back when I was young my father... my father died because I had been stupid and wandered to far. I wandered out of the kingdom into the Gorge of Oath and there was a giant drillmon there and in order to protect me he took an attack to his back. Grant and Eiau showed up as soon as they heard his scream and destroyed it but my father was gravely injured. No matter who we called they couldn't heal him. He never moved again and a few months later... he died." Ronan lifted his head and looked at Emil. "Did Raq tell you about what happened to Thomas?" Emil nodded. "That's why this hits so hard. This is the third time that a role model of mine has died protecting me. Which is also why I'm going to ask you to stay away from me from now on." Ronan stood up and looked at Grant's grave one more time before he turned to leave. "Thank you for everything up to this point but after Kaze'aze has been defeated you should find a new ship and crew and head out without me. I'll be returning to the Kanavan army. That's where I'll live and die in place of the general."

"Ronan..."

"Goodbye." Ronan walked away without letting Emil say anything more.

"Ronan, it's not a cross you have to bear." Emil said to the air. He turned to look at the grave. "Raq... I'm gonna keep an eye on that kid in your place. It's the least I can do considering all you've done for me."

* * *

Lire's eyes slowly opened. She rolled over in her bed... right off the edge. Lire's head shot up as it hit the floor. She turned and looked across the room. Both the beds were empty. "Where'd everyone go?" She muttered. She pushed herself to her feet. On the foot of the bed someone had left her a new shirt to replaced her ripped one. Lire changed and went downstairs to greet Mr. Darli.

"Morning Lire. How are you?"

"Fine, where is everyone else."

"They went to the pub, that's where Arme told me to send them, Although Ronan and Emil left earlier."

"Did everyone go?"

"Everyone except for that new boy you kids brought in yesterday evening." Lire bowed.

"Thank you sir." She turned and walked back up the stairs to the boys room. She walked in and, just as Mr. Darli had said, Both Ronan and Ryan were gone but the seventh warrior was sleeping on the bed. His arms and legs were still chained. Lire walked up and sat on the bed. She reached over and moved the hair from in front of his eyes.

"So you're Lass. I'm Lire, I'm glad we were able to save you." She said to the unconscious boy. "I hope you'll be willing to join us, we're almost done, just a little further and we can finally go back to our normal lives. Where do you come from? Where would you return and what would you do there? Not that it's any of my business of course, I'm just hoping that my words are getting through and helping to keep your mind together. It must have been difficult to have been controlled for that long and Kaze'aze tried to drain you of all your energy to. I guess I'm saying that I'm glad that you're not dead."

"Is that so?" Lire looked down at Lass who was staring at her with cold and unfeeling eyes.

"You're awake!"

"Yes, and uncomfortable. Could you please undo these chains?"

"Oh, ok." Lire got to work on the chains. "Why would they chain you up anyways?"

"I don't know. Granted that I have no idea what situation I'm in right now."

"Well then, let me explain. You were possessed by an evil woman named Kaze'aze. She was using your body so that she could fight us and attack people without putting herself in any danger. Me and my friends are a group chosen to defeat Kaze'aze. No one can kill her other than us, and we've seen this first hand when we were back in Kanavan She, using your body, should've been killed by a man named Thomas but even his strongest power couldn't stop her."

"I see. So she wants to rule this land?"

"We believe that that's her intention, but we can't know for sure."

"I see."

"Do you remember anything about yourself?"

"My name is Lass, though I only know that because you told me earlier. That's the only definite thing I know about myself."

"So you don't have any memories from before or during the time that Kaze'aze had possessed you?"

"Well... a bit. Ever since I woke up, memories have been returning to me piece by piece. It seems that they don't really have an order to their appearance. I don't think I'm getting any memories from the time when I was possessed."

"So you're getting memories back?"

"I remember that I used to live on the streets of Hirion, the largest city on Ellia."

"You lived on the streets? What about your parents." Lass shook his head.

"I don't know, no memories from before I was about eight years old have returned, it would seem I was already on the streets by that point."

"Eight? That's so young."

"Perhaps, but I survived just fine." The chains that Lire had been wrestling with finally came lose and dropped to the ground. Lass stood up and stretched. "Thank you." He said monotonically.

"No problem. Are you ok to walk?"

"Just stick close in case I fall." Lire nodded.

"Let's go and meet the others then. Hopefully more of your memories will have returned by then. We shouldn't continue the explanation unless everyone is present." Lass nodded and followed Lire out the door. On the walk to the pub, Lire talked to Lass about anything she could think of. He kept her up to date whenever memories that he thought were important came into his head. Even after the walk to the pub, Lass still hadn't retrieved any memories from before he was eight, nor could he remember anything about any family he may have had.

Lire entered the pub with Lass in tow. Everyone was at the pub except for Emil. Ronan greeted Lire and introduced himself to Lass, the others followed suit.

"So, Lass, was it? How much has Lire told you already?"

"She told me that there is a woman named Kaze'aze who is trying to rule the world and she had possessed me to do so. She also told me that you people were the only ones who could harm her."

"So she didn't tell you about yourself?"

"I can only assume that since you went to such trouble to rescue me from her when it would have been much much easier to just kill me and attack her in a weakened state I am another member of your group of, as you would say, chosen heroes."

"You just figured that out by hearing the other parts of the story."

"It's not that difficult, I can only think logically."

"I noticed something," Elesis butted in. "There hasn't been any emotion in anything you've said, at least not from what I've heard."

"She's right," Ryan said as he leaned his chair back on it's back legs. "You've said everything really coldly, like you can't be bothered to put emotion into it."

Lass stroked his chin for a moment. "Lire did you say that you found the anti-curse in an old book?" Lire nodded, "May I please see it." Mr. Lirios stood up and went into the back to get the old text that Lire had taken from the ruins. Lass flipped to the page indicated by the bookmark Lire had put in the book. "Did you read everything about the curse?" He asked. Lire shook her head.

"No they were fighting at the time and I was pressed for time so I just skipped to the recipe and instructions for the release curse." Lass flipped through the four or five pages that had information about the dark possession spell that Kaze'aze had used on him, reading at a pace that even Arme found impossible. As soon as he finished Lass flipped through the pages until he stopped, put the bookmark on the new page and slammed the book shut.

"According to this book, the dark possession spell has several additional effects during the time when it is carried out. The most dangerous being the ability for the caster to slowly destroy the mind of the possessed. If they can fully deteriorate and destroy the mind of the possessed then they will become a lifeless puppet to be fully controlled by the caster of the spell. I think it's a pretty safe bet that that was her intention when she first cast the spell. The first part of the mind that must be destroyed in this process is the emotions. In other words, she had already destroyed at least that part by the time you had released me."

"Now that I think about it, I do remember Kaze'aze saying something about having destroyed the first part of his mind." Ronan added.

"So then he doesn't have any emotions?" Elesis asked.

"Correct," Lass answered her. "According to this book if someone is released after only having had their emotions destroyed, they become a very logical being. Without emotions clouding their thoughts they can think carefully and quickly. One effect that most people notice is a greatly accelerated reading speed."

Well that explains that." Ryan chimed in.

"The book also recommends that those who have lost the emotional parts of their minds should attempt to reclaim them as quickly as possible. According to the book, living without emotions is not just a lonely existence but it is very difficult to handle due to the fact that it makes it almost impossible to understand the thoughts of other people. It makes working and interacting with others near impossible."

"So does it say how to get that part of your mind back?" Lass picked the book back up and opened to the page which he had bookmarked earlier.

"It's described in this section of the book. I'll read it out loud." Lass looked down at the book and began reading, slowly. "The emotional part of the human or elven mind is made up of many parts. These parts can be divided into larger subsections. The subsections include Happiness, Sorrow, Kindness, Anger, Love, Hatred, Humour, Fear and Jealousy. Although a few of the subsections could fit into other subsections, they have been divided for reasons of simplicity. The process for reclaiming emotion is not difficult for most people. As long as you have not had your memories destroyed, then you can look through them and try to find events in your past which have made you feel the desired emotion. Afterwards you can recreate the memory. Your body will remember how it felt which will run into your mind. As such your mind will recall and pull the emotion from the old memory. After a single emotion has been reclaimed the other emotions can draw upon that emotion to aid in their recreation. For example, one of the easiest emotions to reform is hatred. Recreating hatred can easily help you to awaken anger, which will aid in awakening jealousy. Jealousy links to love which links to Happiness and Kindness. Happiness then links to Humour. In this way, it is simple to regain the separate parts of your mind after a single one has been recreated." Lass stopped reading and shut the book. He looked around at everyone.

"That's... complicated." Ronan finally broke the silence. "But essentially we have to recreate your memories, right?" Lass nodded.

"I think that'll take to long." Arme chimed in. "Unfortunately we don't have time we have to be ready to head to the castle tomorrow, at the latest. First things first, we should ensure that he knows how to fight and also give him the seal."

"Oh, your right." Ronan said as he dug through his cloak. He pulled out the seal which was glowing with a pale blue. "Take this." He handed the seal to Lass. As soon as Lass touched the seal it erupted in a large flash of light which died down after a few moments.

"I'm guessing that this makes me one of you?" Ronan nodded. "Very well then. If this is what I was born to do then it makes logical sense that I would do it."

"OK then back to the topic at hand. Do you know how to fight?"

"I would assume that I was able to fight to some degree, considering how long I lived on the streets but I don't have any memories of fights and, therefore, don't know my capabilities."

"That's a problem." Elesis commented. "Well fighting is something that your mind may forget, but your body never will. If we put the right weapon in his hand I'm sure he'll remember."

"So then which weapon do we give him?"

"Wouldn't it be daggers."

"Are daggers the weapon that I used while Kaze'aze controlled me?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Then yes, daggers are the likely choice. The dark possession spell has greater effects if the possessed had prior knowledge of the task. It's likely she had me fight with whatever I was able to fight with earlier."

"Ok then. Mr. Lirios can you go get those daggers I gave you last night." Arme asked. Mr. Lirios nodded and headed into the back room.

"Why do you have daggers?" Ronan asked.

"I looted them off him after we brought him back to the inn last night." Mr. Lirios was back in no time with the two unadorned daggers that Lass had fought with the day before. He handed them to Lass. AS soon as they were in Lass' hands he flipped them so they pointed behind him and took a fighting stance. "Found his weapon." Lass immediately started swinging his arms around releaseing a torrent of attacks at teh air in front of him. At the end of his string of attacks he threw the dagger in his right hand into his left. His right hand reached down to his hip and snuck into a small pouch that was hanging there. he then swung his arm forward. Nothing happened.

"What was that supposed to be?" Ryan asked.

"Good question. I didn't have control over my arms, they were moving on their own so I don't know what I was trying to do there."

"Can I see that pouch for a moment?" Arme asked. Lass handed it to her. She looked it over briefly. "This is enchanted. The magic symbol is rubbed off a bit, give me a moment and I'll fix it." Everyone leaned over Arme's shoulder as she fixed the symbol. As soon as she was done the pouch immediately filled itself with small, sharp throwing knives. Arme took one out and another took it's place immediately.

"That's the same spell my crossbows use." Lire commented. Lass reached forward and took a few throwing knives. He held them between his fingers and threw them to the side without looking. Ronan went over to check the knives that were in the wall and he found that each of them had pierced a fly.

"He's good." Ronan commented. "I think we've established that he can fight. Now let's move on to making the plan for attacking the castle." The finally complete group of warriors spent the next several hours planning their attack on the castle. They discussed several strategies but finally settled on attacking the following morning in one large group. After the plan had been formed they ate and were free to do as they wished as long as they were well rested enough to fight in the morning. Lire decided to show Lass around the town before heading back to the inn.

"You don't know much more about this place than I do, do you?"

"That obvious, huh?"

"In that case why did you offer, or rather insist, to show me around?"

"That's a good question."

"And the answer is that you're to nice. You push your kindness onto people even when that kindness is going to be nothing more than a nuisance to them. Forgive me if I offended you. Please remember I don't understand emotion and can't tell whether what I just said was a compliment or an insult." Lass kept walking with Lire staring at him dejectedly. Suddenly Lass stumbled and was forced to lean on the wall of the building next to him. Lire ran up to him.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she wrapped his arm around her shoulders and helped him to stand back up.

"I remembered." Lass said sounding angry.

"What, did you remember something important?"

"I remember the first time Kaze'aze appeared before me and I can see some of the things that I did while I was possessed... I'm going to destroy her."

* * *

And there we go. Hope you enjoyed as they prepared for the assault on Kaze'aze's castle in the next chapter. Again sorry this took so long, Writer's block makes us all worthless.

Please Review and have a nice day.


	24. Dark Castle Part 1, The guards

Well here I am, again sorry about forgetting to update. The next chapters halfway done already so it should be up in a little while.

Enjoy

* * *

The sun rose over the hills, bathing Orinig in a golden light. Lass' eyes slowly opened as he pushed himself up and got out of bed being careful not to wake Ryan who was sleeping next to him. He climbed to the roof of the inn and looked at the large castle that sat ominously in the distance.

"You're up early." Someone said from behind him. He turned around to see Arme who was also looking at the castle.

"I only just joined you, yet we head towards the one behind everything today." Lass said in his monotonous tone. "She used me and I will do all in my power to make her pay for it." By the time Lass was done speaking anger had entered his voice.

"I agree, I'm just as upset with her as you are. We all have our reasons for wanting her gone."

"I was possessed and used, Ryan was cursed, Ronan lost several people close to him but what about you?"

"Because of her I was forced to kill someone that I always admired, someone who was like my older sister even though I didn't have a family."

"Do you speak of the, Elena that I heard about yesterday?"

"Yeah..."

"You should just consider yourself lucky that you are able to care about others, that you are able to want revenge for another. The only thing I can feel right now is hatred, even if it is the same thing you feel right now, I cannot love and could never want to avenge another. I can only want revenge for myself, not another."

"You've at least got that. At least you have hatred and it sounds like anger is coming in to it as well. You'll be back to yourself, whoever that is, in no time."

"Perhaps, but even I understand that having only anger and hatred is not ideal. We can only hope that my other emotions return sooner rather than later."

"Like the book said, you have to experience some event or there has to be a really strong need for the feeling in order for it to return. We'll all help you after this is over."

"Perhaps but... the possibility exists that I was an evil person before my mind was taken over. It's possible that I didn't and, therefore, never will understand love or happiness. I don't even know if Lass is my true name or how old I actually am. I have all these memories yet I can't see them clearly and I can't understand the parts of them I can see. If it is the case that I am evil or that hatred and anger are the only things I can feel, would you still be willing to try and help me."

"Of course, I believe that given time anyone can change. I wish we could find some way to help Kaze'aze change and I wish that I didn't have to kill Elena but sometimes, you have no choice but to eliminate a threat which is too great."

"I see, an interesting philosophy, to say the least. Is it something that you came up with?"

"No, those were the words that my master always told me. He was the greatest man I've ever known and so I adopted his philosophies."

"I see. Perhaps I will understand that feeling one day. Hopefully it will be one day soon."

"For now we have to stop Kaze'aze. I'm sure you'll find yourself to be a good person afterwards."

"We can only hope... although hope is truly worth nothing."

"I'm going to let that go considering your condition. Now come on, I'm sure the others will be waking up soon." Lass nodded and followed Arme off the roof. They headed back to their rooms. Everyone was up at that point and they were all just as anxious as Arme and Lass. They all headed to the pub to begin their final meeting before the greatest battle of their lives.

"This is it." Ronan commented. "It's finally time for us to fight her. Today it all ends, for better or for worse."

"Don't talk like that, Ronan." Lire responded. "We'll win, we have to win, Everyone's depending on us."

"Don't worry I don't intend to lose, I won't disgrace Thomas like that."

"Yeah, I'm with you. The massacre of my people won't go unpunished."

"I'll avenge Elena, if it's the last thing I do."

"I'll succeed where my father failed, Kaze'aze won't escape."

"Well then, good luck kids. We all believe in you." Mr. Lirios Said. "I know you'll succeed and be back."

"Get it done; my ability to sail depends on it."

"We'll do it, she won't win."

"Let's go." At Ronan's word the young group headed out together. As they walked through town most of the citizens encouraged them. Everyone knew that today was the last day and everyone believed in these seven, young warriors. They left town. The castle was several hours away which they were able to cover in a short time with the help of Shinryu. The group looked up at the black castle. It was enormous and ominous. There was lightning crackling around the castle constantly. Lass walked forward, ahead of the rest of the group, and pushed the enormous gate open.

"This is it." He said with his emotionless voice. "Everyone be ready, I'm sure we'll run into her strongest guards here." Everyone nodded at Lass' words. "Let's go." Everyone followed Lass through the large gate and into the dark castle. Everyone could feel a strong dark power around them. The castle itself was a very dark and depressing place. The group walked slowly through the castle defeating any enemies they came across.

"She hasn't left many guards." Ronan commented as he crushed another enemy with his glaive.

"Two possibilities," Lass began, "The first is that she's laying a trap and the second is that we've exhausted her supply of troops. Considering that the troops are created through dark magic I would assume the former."

"You're right, we have to move carefully. Everyone be ready to fight at a moment's notice." The group continued through the castle with no significant events. Finally they came upon a darkly ornate door which was almost as large as the castle's gate.

"The throne room, I'd wager." Ryan said looking at the door.

"Indeed." A loud booming voice said from behind them. The group turned to find Agano sitting on a skeletal Gorgos. "My mistress rests just beyond that door, however I cannot allow you to go any further."

"We've beaten you before, Agano, and you won't stop us this time." Elesis told him. "We're going to defeat Kaze'aze no matter what you try." Agano dismounted the Gorgos and walked towards them.

"Is that so? Are you sure you're ready to fight my mistress? Are you sure you can defeat her? Either way I cannot allow you to go forward so easily, and I'm not alone this time." A strange man fell from the roof and landed next to Agano. He drew a sword and held it backwards in one hand. He then took a stance which looked as though he was going to be fighting with his fist rather than his blade.

"Name's Sieghart, sorta, It's a pleasure to be fighting you today." The man bowed to the warriors.

"Sieghart…? impossible."

"What's wrong, Elesis."

"Sieghart is an ancient name that hasn't been used for centuries. The last person to use it was my ancestor. He was a gladiator who was considered the strongest of his time."

"So you've heard of me? I must say it's quite an honor to be so well known even after half a millennia."

"Impossible, you can't be Sieghart, just look at you. You're unremarkable in every way."

"I'll grant that the body I'm borrowing isn't anything spectacular but my own power will more than make up for it. Not that it really matters what you think, you're not my target." Sieghart shifted his eyes away from Elesis and locked them onto Lass. "Let's dance!" He charged Lass and pulled him away from the others. Agano and the gorgos immediately stepped in front of the other warriors, blocking their path to Lass.

"We're your opponents. Let me show you my true skill, Elesis." Agano drew his whip-like blade and immediately pulled a second sword from behind him. "Let's see if you can face me and the bone gorgos." The gorgos jumped, trying to land on the warriors. They all scattered as it landed causing a large quake. Elesis charged passed the Gorgos and stood across from Agano, with her spear ready.

"I'll destroy the Gorgos in no time," Ronan told the others. "Aid me, brother! Come forth, Shinryu!" Shinryu appeared and charged to Gorgos. The two grappled, evenly matched. "Stronger than I expected, come on everyone take the Gorgos down!" Everyone tried to attack the gorgos from different angles. The gorgos' massive tail swung around it's body knocking them all away easily.

"They used bones from other beasts to make its tail longer and I doubt that it's a weakpoint anymore." Arme claimed.

"They really raised it to its strongest level, didn't they?" Ryan commented.

"Dammit, return Shinryu!" Shinryu disappeared, freeing the Gorgos' claws. "I can't afford to waste my magic here. Everyone get ready!"

* * *

"Come now, Elesis, let us begin our final battle."

"I have to ask again, why are you working with Kaze'aze?"

"Then may I ask you, why are you working against her?"

"She's evil."

"Is she, who's to say you are not the evil one by trying to stop her?"

"Is that what you think?"

"Perhaps, or perhaps I merely like to fight."

"I don't believe that for a second."

"You can believe it or not, it really doesn't matter. What does matter is that we're enemies standing face to face with weapons drawn."

"Agano, I really did want you to find a good life, but if this is how you choose to live, then I'll release you." Agano took stance with his two weapons.

"Come."

* * *

"Why do you want to fight me?" Lass asked the mysterious man named Sieghart.

"There's something I have to check, plain and simple."

"And what's that?"

"Your affinity."

"Affinity?"

"Indeed, there's a certain task that needs completing. As much as I don't want to force this task onto another, I have no choice. Therefore I must find someone who has a certain spiritual affinity that will allow them to complete this task."

"And just how important is this task."

"It could determine the fate of our world and the fate of many others."

"Other worlds? What are you talking about?"

"It's best that you don't know, not yet. I've already checked the others during their battles with Kaze'aze's servants. You're all that's left, so I'll be your opponent." Lass drew his daggers and took his fighting stance.

"So you're not working for Kaze'aze then?"

"I could care less what happens with Kaze'aze. If she rules, fine, if not, whatever. The only thing I care about is making sure that this task is complete."

"I see, very well then, I'll fight you." Lass dashed forward and attempted to slash Sieghart with his dagger. Sieghart caught the small blade on his and threw Lass several meters away.

"Weren't you listening to Elesis? This body may not be the strongest but my own power more than makes up for it."

"I was merely gauging your power, before we began. You're certainly strong but I can tell you're using no more than sixty percent of your power, if that. Now that I have an idea of what physical feats you're capable of, this battle should be far more even." Lass pushed off the ground, jumping up and landing, on the wall for a split second before pushing off and flying towards Sieghart. Sieghart raised his blade to block but Lass spun in the air, going around Sieghart and throwing four knives into his back. Sieghart arced at the pain. He turned to face Lass, still ready to fight.

"So you have no qualms with harming a borrowed body?"

"Don't even try it. The unfocused eyes, the slight aroma, and the small hint of flesh that's begun to rot. You're borrowed body is a corpse approximately three or four days dead." Sieghart laughed.

"Man you really are smart."

"Not so, I just don't have the ability to get worked up when fighting someone who I don't absolutely hate, not yet at least. Anyone who calmly considered what was around them could figure it out."

"Perhaps your right, it's pretty clear that your vanity has yet to reawaken."

"It'll come when it comes." Lass drew four more throwing knives from his the pouch on his hip. "And you'll be gone before that." Sieghart took the initiative this time, charging Lass with his sword trailing behind him. He swung his fist back and tried to punch Lass. Lass jumped avoiding the punch, which flew into the ground cracking it. Sieghart turned and knocked the knives that Lass threw out off the air. Lass immediately threw four more knives. Sieghart blacked them with his blade and came charging at Lass again. This time he swung his sword at Lass's legs. Lass jumped just enough to cause the sword to go under his legs and he stabbed at Sieghart's head. Sieghart shifted his head's position slightly, just enough to cause the dagger to miss. Lass used his foot on Sieghart's arm to push himself over and land on the blade, pinning it to the ground. Sieghart released the blade and grabbed the arm that Lass had attacked him with. He then swung forward and grabbed Lass' other arm, locking them both in place.

"Sorry kid, but it looks like it's my advantage. You just don't have to physical strength to match me." Lass didn't say anything; he just looked up at Sieghart with his emotionless face. Sieghart's eyes widened for a moment. He released Lass' arms and tried to jump back and escape but it was too late, Lass had already spit out three throwing knives which had embedded themselves in Sieghart's right arm. Sieghart grabbed his right arm with his left as a small amount of blood trickled down his arm, he smiled. "This is fun, you're good kid. It's been a long time since I've had a fight that's made me this excited."

"I doubt I would be a match for you if I had my emotions active."

"What does that matter? Right now I'm fighting you without your emotions, that's all that matters."

"I would like to say you're right but I have to consider the battle that awaits me behind that door. Therefore this battle is not all that matters."

"Man logical minds seem boring."

"I wouldn't know I don't understand the feeling of boredom." Sieghart shook his head.

"Yeah forget I said anything, let's get back to our battle." Sieghart took a martial arts stance."

"You can move your right arm?"

"Not my body, long as I can take the stress it puts on my soul then I can force it to move. If you want me to lose the ability to use an arm you'll need to cut it right off."

"You're quite the opponent." Lass kicked Sieghart's sword far behind him so that Sieghart couldn't reach it without taking several knives to the back. He raised his daggers into a fighting stance and prepared for Sieghart's attack. Suddenly there was a great, pained, roar from behind Sieghart. He turned to look at it and Lass observed over his shoulder. They saw the Nephilim trading blow for blow with the bone gorgos. Agano had also taken his attention off of Elesis to look at the gorgos. Sieghart made some kind of signal to Agano and leapt over to stand next to him. The bone gorgos broke his standstill with Ryan and jumped over to stand with Agano and Sieghart.

"Well then I guess that'll do." Agano said as he sheathed his weapons.

"I got all I need," Sieghart responded. "I wanted to get lost in that battle for a little while longer but whatever. Let's get the hell out of here. Don't worry kids; I'm sure we'll meet again." With that, Sieghart fell limply to the ground, dead. Agano mounted the gorgos, which jumped up to the roof, not coming down again.

"What the hell did they want?" Ronan asked. "Were they really guarding this door or was it something else?"

"Good question," Lass responded. "Like Sieghart said, I'm sure we'll meet again and we can ask him then.

* * *

"Well Sieghart?" Agano asked as he exited the castle.

"I felt something faint. I'll need to fight him again when his emotions are back." Sieghart responded, now back to a body-less voice.

"For now let's get out of here. If I'm right then he's going to appear and I have no idea what's going to happen at that point."

"Yeah Well, I guess this is where our partnership ends."

"You're right. The jobs that we agreed to help each other with are done now so I guess we'll go our separate ways."

"Good luck out there Agano, great working with you."

"Goodbye my friend." Agano tapped the bone gorgos and it broke into an extremely fast dash.

* * *

"This is it." Elesis said to the others as she stood in front of the enormous door. "This is what we've all been fighting for for so long now."

"Let's destroy her." Lass said angrily.

"Careful Lass." Ronan warned him. "She's strong, try not to let your anger take over."

"I'll do all I can."

Ryan stepped forward and pushed the door open. "Let's go."

Everyone walked together, weapons ready, into the enormous throne room. They all saw the same thing on the far end of the enormous room. Sitting on a large throne was a woman with long black hair that fell down to her waist. She was dressed in blood red robes which showed off her legs and stomach. She looked up at the heroes, her piercing, golden eyes looking straight into their eyes, freezing them with fear. She stood up from the throne and walked towards the group.

"Hello young warriors. I have been awaiting your arrival."

* * *

Phew it's done, up next is Kaze'aze (in two parts). Well please review, once gain I deeply apologize for forgetting to update and pray that I get the next chapter done quickly.

Have a nice day.


	25. Dark castle Part 2, The dark queen

Alright, Kaze'aze time. Again I apologize about my rant in my last post and I thank you for putting up with my idiocy. This took a bit longer than anticipated but like I said I'm going on vacation and I'm dead tired from packing last night.

Well enjoy...

* * *

Kaze'aze gazed down at the warriors, her golden eyes gleaming in the castle's darkness.

"So you've awoken and come to fight me?" She said staring into Lass' eyes, "The seven have been brought together but that doesn't mean you can defeat me."

"We will win!" Lass said angrily.

"Oh my, he has emotion. Hatred and anger, do you dislike me so much? I had intended to give you a grand position in the new world, if only you had stayed with us."

"I will destroy you!"

"I see, very well then, I'll accept your challenge, but first." Kaze'aze raised her hand and an enormous number of guards, scouts and dark mages flooded the throne room. "Let us have our battle. But I will fight you alone Lass." Kaze'aze floated into the air and moved to a wide open area in front of the throne. "Come to me." She beckoned to Lass mockingly. Lass clenched his teeth and charged forward to meet Kaze'aze. As soon as he had passed the line of troops they formed up to prevent the others from getting to Lass.

"Lass, you idiot." Ronan said under his breath. "It didn't take two seconds for his anger to get the best of him. Everyone we have to deal with all these monsters as quickly as possible. Lire, you've got the best eyes keep an eye on Lass and Kaze'aze and fire a few bolts if he's in trouble, I'll cover you." Lire nodded and raised her crossbows, everyone else already had their weapons ready and were waiting for someone, friend or foe, to make the first move.

Lass charged forward into the open space where Kaze'aze awaited him, smiling mischievously. "I'll destroy you!"

"Oh my, what did I ever do to you?" Lass' eyes narrowed at her insulting words.

"Kaze'aze, I can see visions of everything you did with my body. I don't understand my memories of my past but those memories are all to clear. I hate you with a burning passion and I won't let you live any longer." Kaze'aze giggled mockingly.

"Aren't you cute? You actually think you stand a chance."

"My only wish right now is that I can make your death as long and tortuous as possible." Lass slowly threw a single knife at Kaze'aze. She side-stepped, easily avoiding the knife and threw a small orb of black energy at Lass. Lass back-stepped slightly. The orb disappeared as it hit the ground. "Weak..."

"You're not trying very hard either. It seems the suggestion is working quite well."

"Suggestion?"

"Before you were freed a left a suggestion in your mind. A suggestion which takes away your ability to harm me."

"Die!" Lass dashed forward with his daggers drawn. He swung his right arm forward but just as he was about to cut Kaze'aze he stopped. His arm shook as he tried to force it to move. Kaze'aze drew a small dagger from under her dress. She raised the dagger, ready to kill Lass. Her arm fell down towards his head when suddenly a bolt came flying from the others and knocked the dagger out of her hand. Another bolt knocked Lass' dagger out of his hand and he jumped back, distancing himself from Kaze'aze. "I see, so if I'm not trying to attack you directly then I won't freeze like that." Lass raised his one remaining dagger defensively. Kaze'aze flipped her hair from in front of her eyes.

"No matter, I promise, you will be dead soon."

* * *

"How is he doing Lire?" Ronan asked without stopping his attack.

"He's moving again, it's gonna be tough on him if he can't attack her directly."

"I still can't believe you heard her." Ronan quickly scanned the small area they were fighting in. Ryan was protecting Amy as she destroyed the enemies with her songs. Arme was destroying as many as she could using her alchemy while Elesis guarded her. "You've got the best legs here, I'm going to attack towards Lass and Kaze'aze. When you see an opening, jump over and help him, he won't beat her alone." Lire nodded at Ronan's plan and aimed her crossbows at the enemies.

* * *

Lass threw another dagger which flew by Kaze'aze, completely off target. Kaze'aze laughed mockingly and threw another small orb of dark energy which was easily avoided.

"Why are you toying with me!" Lass yelled at her. "If you could destroy me so easily then why don't you! Are you hiding something!"

"Silly boy, There's no reason to end my fun now."

"And yet you were ready to stab me moments ago." Lass said in a much more calm tone. Kaze'aze's lip curled slightly. "There's something you're hiding and, unfortunately for you, the fact that you eliminated my emotions should make it simple for me to figure out."

"Foolish boy, it's very simple for me to prevent you from figuring anything out about, well anything."

"How's that?"

"Just think about everything I did while I was in your body." Lass' clenched his teeth. "See? all I have to do is bring up something like that and you're hatred flairs up full force, clouding your judgement." Kaze'aze formed a larger orb of energy in her hand and threw it forward at a much higher speed than before. Lass jumped backwards, nimbly dodging the orb, and quickly whipped three knives from his pouch. The knives moved quickly and accurately. Kaze'aze dodged them, barely. Lass' eyebrows raised slightly.

"I can't harm you? I can't attack you but if my mind registers it as defence then I have no issues." Lass said, still somewhat angry. He raised his remaining dagger defensively.

"How will knowing that help you, you little fool."

"You can't kill me if you don't attack."

"Oh can't I?"

"I'd like to see you try."

"Do you know how many people I killed using you? Yes, I even made you wipe out your little friend Ryan's entire tribe." Lass' teeth clenched again as his vision became red." So much blood, so much death, so many things you can never atone for." Lass charged Kaze'aze with his dagger ready to strike. Suddenly a blast of green energy exploded from the floor just in front of Lass. He quickly jumped back and whipped three knives at the attack. The knives flew through the area where the energy was and flew towards Kaze'aze. She dove to avoid them. Two of them flew by her without issue but the third cut her dress slightly. Kaze'aze stood up, enraged. Lass rubbed his head for a moment, snapping out of his anger. He looked at the floor to see something that both he and Kaze'aze had been to preoccupied to notice before. The floor had many bolts sticking out of it. They were widespread and numerous all over the entire area in which the two were fighting.

"Hmph," Lass huffed uncharacteristically. He looked straight at Kaze'aze "This may sound cliche, but I won't lose because I'm not fighting alone." Lass' eyes shifted to the side. Hiding there was Lire, who had broken free from the enemies encirclement. She winked at him and he nodded very slightly so as not to tip off Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze was looking straight at Lass angrily. She flipped her hair.

"How dare you cut my dress?" She said menacingly. "How dare one as inferior as you harm me. I hope you're ready to die." Before Kaze'aze could make a move Lass charged forward with his dagger sheathed. Kaze'aze fired several rounds of flaming orbs, which Lass nimbly avoided, without counterattacking. He dove to the side going right by Kaze'aze and grabbing his second dagger from the ground. He unsheathed the sheathed dagger and held them both ready. Kaze'aze formed thunder into her palm and blasted it at Lass. Lass jumped back avoiding the thunder but before he could throw any knives he was forced to avoid the next blast and was then to far away for an effective throw. Kaze'aze raised her hand and opened her palm to the ceiling. An uncountable number of daggers rose from the walls, floors and behind the large throne. They all hovered in the air, blades pointed at Lass. Ten of the daggers flew towards Lass from all angles. He quickly threw four knives which knocked four of the daggers out of the air. He carefully maneuvered his away around five more and the tenth flew directly towards his back. He turned just in time to see a blast of green energy knock it from the air. Kaze'aze smirked at Lass. She violently clenched her hand into a fist and the daggers began flying towards Lass one by one. Lass carefully maneuvered around the enormous number of daggers, while knocking many out of the air with his own knives. He made sure to carefully position himself near the bolts, many of which were forced to activate in order to keep him safe. The daggers continued to fall for a long time before they finally began to stop. Once they had stopped Lass immediately turned to look at Kaze'aze, who had moved to a new position during the attack. She smirked at Lass as three more daggers came flying from out of nowhere. They didn't fly towards Lass but instead flew towards a large piece of rubble which formed thanks to Kaze'aze's earlier attacks. They flew behind the rubble and blood flew up. Lass heard Lire scream in pain. Kaze'aze immediately threw a small, yet concentrated, orb of dark energy towards the rubble. It blasted through the rubble and Lass heard Lire scream again. Kaze'aze quickly flew towards Lire, grabbing her by the throat, knocking her unconscious, and lifting her into the air. Lass slipped his hand into his pouch and looked down worriedly. The pouch wasn't refilling anymore, he only had three knives left. He sheathed one of his daggers, slipped the blades of the three knives between his fingers and pulled them out of the pouch. Kaze'aze smiled devilishly at him.

"What do you intend to do?" She asked evilly. "Even if you were able to throw those on target, I have a nice shield here. She held Lire in front of her. Kaze'aze moved her hand over Lire's stomach and released magical energy into her. Lire, still unconscious, panted heavily at the painful sensation on her stomach.

"Get your hands off of her!" Lass yelled angrily. Kaze'aze eyebrow raised.

"What's this? You're angry over someone else. Hmph, no matter, I'll finish her first, and without her help, you'll die . Lass clenched his teeth and raised the dagger he still had in his right hand. He charged forward, dagger ready to strike. "So you choose to die first? So be it." Kaze'aze held her hand out and a dagger from earlier came flying into it. She floated motionlessly, waiting for Lass to attack. Lass jumped forward and swung his dagger hard. Kaze'aze's eyes widened and she desperately avoided the attack. Lass turned himself in the air, swung his leg down and hit Kaze'aze's wrist causing her to drop Lire. Lass placed his other foot on her stomach and pushed off of her body, pushing himself into the air and throwing the three knives at Kaze'aze. Two of the knives embedded themselves in Kaze'aze's stomach and the third hit her chest, causing blood to fly up and hit Lass. A dim, pale blue light went unnoticed on Lass's chest. Kaze'aze grabbed her chest in pain and shot a vicious look at Lass who was helplessly rising into the air without any momentum to move or turn himself. She raised her hand, aiming her open palm at Lass and charged an enormous amount of fire into her arm. The light grew brighter on Lass's chest and grew to a brilliant pitch, enveloping everything just as Kaze'aze fired her spell.

* * *

Lass's eyes opened. He stood up and looked around. He was in an entirely white area.

"So this is what they meant, huh." He said to himself.

"Yeah..." A a longing, female voice said from behind him. He turned around and saw a beautiful young lady wearing a strange garb which looked something like a cross between an evening gown and a tight body suit. Attached to her hip was scimitar that looked exceptionally sharp and wrapped around her left arm was chain with a sharp point attached to the end. Any other guy would've been embarrassed seeing her in that outfit but Lass just kept talking.

"So who are you?"

"Rose... is my given name. More commonly I was known as... Death's Thorn."

"That's isn't exactly a pleasant nickname, is it?"

"It suits an assassin."

"Indeed. So you're an assassin, are you?"

She nodded, "I am, and you need my help."

"Do I? It seems as though I was winning back there."

"I'm not talking about my power, although you'll receive that as well."

"What do you want to help me with?"

"Can you tell me what the first rule of the assassin is?"

"Kill your emotions, isn't it? I'm no assassin so i wouldn't know."

"No, you're right. Now do you know what I want to tell you next?"

"What's that?"

"The first rule of the assassin... is wrong. Completely and entirely."

"Is that so?"

"Emotions are not a weakness, in fact, I have never seen them do anything but make someone stronger. In your case, having only anger, it was a crutch, however when you retrieve all your emotions you will be far stronger. You're moving along quickly, you've already reawakened several emotions."

"I wouldn't call anger and hatred several."

"You've gotten more than that."

"What?"

"You've achieved kindness as well as fear. Both of those emotions are required to become angry when someone else is being threatened. Perhaps you picked them up while watching others or they were simply reawakened by the event."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and you were able to break through Kaze'aze's power over you because you wanted to protect that girl. It may not be the strictest definition, but it is kindness"

"I was just returning the favor."

"Well I won't stop you from thinking like that, if you wish." Lass rolled his eyes, annoyed. "You have a lot of potential, Lass."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"By all means."

"Assassin's are taught that emotions are a weakness, so why do you disagree with that so much?" She smiled, slightly.

"At first I believed in that, I pushed down my emotions and killed. There was only one person I needed to protect, I felt obligated to protect and that was my frail younger sister, Anne. One day a monster appeared that was to strong, I couldn't defeat it. I was the strongest in our little group but in the end, my brother-in-law was able to destroy the monster, because he felt the need to protect Anne, because he loved her so much. That man was an idiot. He was unmotivated, lewd and greedy... but he really loved Anne, and thanks to that he was able to do what I couldn't, even though I was stronger."

"Gee, thanks sis." Lass turned around to see a young man with long red hair lying on his side.

"Forgive me for telling the truth, Ydrai."

"Ah, shut up. You're as bad as that Lire kid."

"How do you know Lire?" Lass asked.

"I gave her those crossbows that she's been fighting with."

"So you're... I see."

"Yes, we were both revived to fight Gaikoz." Rose said from behind Lass. "Forced to take a second life and now we have lived for so long, waiting for the seven of you."

"Yeah kid, now that you're done, we're all moving on." Lass turned again this time to see The blonde lancer, Abastoth.

"Thank you." Karina appeared, linked her arm with Abastoth's and rested her head on his shoulder. Abastoth blushed and looked away. Celeion, grumpy as usual, Ryu, with his calm smile, and Ess, with his kind demeanor all appeared along with them.

"It's finally time for us to move on." Ryu said.

"Please tell Amy to continue with her music, she will be great." Ess told Lass.

"Give Ryan a message." Celeion told Lass. "Tell him that he's not worthy." Lass stared at Celeion who glared back at him before going to join the other heroes.

"Remember emotions aren't a weakness, but a strength. Never forget that. Save our world from Kaze'aze. You can do it." Rose reached out to Lass, taking his daggers into her hands. The daggers glowed. One turned into an extremely sharp scimitar while the other turned into a long chain with a sharp point on the end. The chain coiled itself around Lass' left arm and he took the scimitar in his right. Rose reached behind her back and untied the ribbon which held her hair up. "Give me your arm." Lass extended his arm to Rose, who tied the lace ribbon around his wrist. "This ribbon was a present from Anne... It is a treasured possession of mine and so it holds my knowledge and memories. I pray it helps you in defeating Kaze'aze." Lass nodded to Rose.

"I'll win, Kaze'aze will not escape us further." Rose nodded and waved to Lass as she and the other heroes disappeared.

* * *

Lass immediately fired the chain, hitting the wall and puling himself out of the way of the large pillar of flame Kaze'aze had fired at him. He pressed his feet against the wall and pushed off, firing himself towards Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze barely dodged the slash of his scimitar. Lass flipped around and made motion like he as jumping off of the air itself as he dashed forward in mid-air, striking Kaze'aze with the hilt of his blade. Kaze'aze fell to the ground, landing on her feet. One hand held her neck where Lass had struck her while the other held her chest, which still had a knife protruding from it. She opened her hand, aiming her open palm at Lass once again.

"Die..." She muttered as she fired off a torrent of enormous spells without charging any energy. Lass easily avoided the attacks by dashing off the air itself. He landed on the ground and released his chain which extended down to the ground. He began to spin his chain around in a circle beside him.

"You can't hit me. We assassins are trained to move so quickly that the air itself becomes a stepping stool." He jumped into the air, pushing off of it and dashing into the sky. He swung his arm, throwing his chain at Kaze'aze. The chain straightened out and the point flew straight towards her chest. Kaze'aze dove, desperately trying to avoid the attack while panting heavily from the torrent of high level spells she had just unleashed. Lass back-dashed, landing on a small, unstable balcony that Kaze'aze's spells had created. He watched from his vantage point, high up in the sky as the three bolts that surrounded kaze'aze exploded into green blasts of energy, hitting Kaze'aze from all sides. Lass dashed off of the balcony, using his chain to pull him along faster. He landed on the ground, ripped the chain out of the ground and immediately shot the point towards Kaze'aze. Lire's energy blasts dissipated just in time for Kaze'aze to see the chain as it broke through her chest and embedded itself in the wall behind her. Kaze'aze's eyes were wide as she violently coughed up blood. She had two knives embedded in her stomach, another in her chest and also a long chain through her chest. Lass pulled on the chain causing a great jolt of pain to rush through Kaze'aze's body. He stepped towards her slowly, pulling on the chain to pull her closer to him. He stopped just in front of her and glared down on her figure. Kaze'aze slowly lifted her head and looked up at Lass, pitifully. Lire stumbled over and stood next Lass, holding her stomach in pain.

"You. inferior. beings... Kaze'aze stuttered out, "You. Won't defeat. Me. No matter. How hard you. Try. I will kill. You."

"You were pitiful to the very end." Lire told her. Lass raised his scimitar and, while looking straight into Kaze'aze's pained eyes, brought it down on her neck. Kaze'aze's head fell off her body and rolled across the floor. Blood poured from her body as it fell to the ground. The minions that Kaze'aze had sent to attack the other warriors immediately stopped moving and began to crumble. The other five warriors ran straight to Lass and Lire, who promptly collapsed after Kaze'aze's death. Arme created a potion which she force-fed Lire to give her more energy and temporarily heal her wounds. Lire stood up.

"How are you guys?" Elesis asked concerned.

"I feel much better thanks to Arme." Lass stared at the decapitated body and head lying on the ground.

"She's dead..." He said solemnly. "I killed her, and now what's left is to find myself and live."

"Lass..." Ryan put his hand on Lass's shoulder.

"Celeion gave me a message for you. He said you're not worthy."

"Shocker."

"The heroes have moved on, they finally passed on and found peace. Is peace... coming to the living now?"

"Yeah." Ronan confirmed, "She's gone... it has to." Lass nodded and turned to face the others. He scratched his head trying to figure out what to say. He took a deep breath.

"Thank you, everyone." Everyone looked at Lass with scrutinizing faces.

"Lass just thanked us." Amy stated. "Does he have that ability yet?"

"Good question." Ryan said in response.

"Well one thing you do know is that I have the ability to get angry!" Lass half-yelled at them. Everyone other than Lass started laughing, they couldn't help it Kaze'aze was finally gone, the bloody path they've been walking is finally over. A small smile cracked on Lass' face. Lire and Elesis noticed it and approached him.

"You're smiling, Lass." Elesis said happily.

"Does this mean?" Lass' smile grew a bit bigger.

"Yeah, I'm definitely happy." Lire and Elesis both jumped and hugged Lass, who's smile grew a little bigger. Everyone walked towards them.

"Let's get out of here, Emil and Mr. Lirios are waiting for us back in Orinig." Arme said. Ronan nodded in agreement.

"Yeah I gotta get back to Kanavan and whip the army back into shape. Kanavan's the only place left with enough power to do anything. We gotta finish off any of Kaze'aze's remaining minions, help people rebuild what she destroyed." Ronan sighed. "I've got a lot of work to do."

"Don't worry I'll be there to help." Elesis told him.

"We all will." Lire told him. Everyone, even Lass, smiled at Ronan and Amy wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Don't worry we're not gonna leave you!" Ronan chuckled a little bit as he struggled to detach Amy from his back.

"Yeah, let's get out of here." Everyone left the throne room and walked out of the castle. They all took one last look at the place of their final battle before turning and heading out. Suddenly Amy's head snapped around, her eyes wide.

"What's wrong Amy?" Ryan asked walking back to her. The others also stopped and walked back to Amy. She pointed up to the sky in front of the castle. Everyone followed her finger and their eyes widened in surprise, all except Lass, who never truly believed it was over.

"I knew it." He muttered to himself. Floating in the sky in front of the castle was Kaze'aze's severed head and hovering just below was her decapitated body. The head tilted up and the mouth opened releasing a horrible shriek. Her eyes glowed white and her body began to glow as well. The light grew brighter and brighter enveloping the warriors. The light slowly dimmed and the warriors eyes adjusted. None of them could believe what they saw. There was a giant monster standing in front of the castle gate. The monster looked vaguely like a wolf with long, think, whip like pieces of fur and it had blood red claws on it's feet. The beast roared to the heavens then looked back down at the warriors.

"I told you, young fool. No matter how hard you try, I will kill you."

* * *

Phew I think this chapter turned out well, I always do better writing when I travel (Depending on just how much there is to do at where I'm going.)

Anyways, review and all that. I may get the chance to update while I'm out but if not then the next chapter won't be coming before the 14th at the earliest.


	26. The new evil, a new world

Well, I'm back and it's time for a new chapter. It took a bit longer than I anticipated because I was helping my Dad clean out the basement after we got back from vacation and I found my old collection of Final Fantasy and kinda got caught up replaying them all, one week = 6 games and now I feel like the walking dead. This is where the story starts to become very original so I hope you all still enjoy it as much as when it was based so heavily on the game.

* * *

Lass wasted no time, He immediately threw his chain at the enormous monster that Kaze'aze had become. The long, whip-like strands of armor-like fur moved quickly, knocking the chain away. Lass retrieved the chain and spun it around at his side while resting the scimitar across his shoulders. He looked, with narrowed eyes, directly into the monsters eyes. The others snapped out of their shock and readied their weapons, forming up with Lass.

"Careful, everyone. Her power has risen, to an even greater level than before."

Kaze'aze roared and stomped her feet on the ground. The ground cracked under the immense power and enormous chunks of earth began to fly in the sky. Before the heroes knew it, Kaze'aze was standing on a small platform the was in the centre of a giant crater. Kaze'aze roared to the sky again. The chunks of earth that were still in the air stopped falling and the ones that had fallen to the ground rose up and floated in the air along with the others. Lastly, the platform Kaze'aze was standing on rose up from the ground, floating into the air and stopping above all the others. Kaze'aze stomped her feet into her chunk of rock and lightning bolts surrounding it, shooting out to the other chunks creating connection which caused the chunks of stone to rotate around Kaze'aze's, as if in orbit.

"Come and face your death."

"She's not taking us seriously." Lass seethed, "What she's done here, it's like... she's playing a game, toying with us. If she wants to fight in the air, so be it."

Lass launched his chain, embedding it in one of the stones and swinging himself up on top of it. "I'm with Lass on this one, I didn't get to fight her before, but she still has to pay for cursing me." Ryan swung his arms open and transformed into the Nephilim. He unspread his wings but just before he took off Amy latched on to his back. He glared at her with his golden eyes and she pointed up at the rocks above them. Ryan begrudgingly took off with Amy along for the ride, they got down next to Lass and Ryan reverted back to his original form. Kaze'aze opened her mouth slightly and spit an enormous blast of flame at the three, they split up, all jumping of the stone they were on an onto three different stones which had just passed their own. The fireball destroyed the rock they were on, blowing it to pieces. As soon as it was gone, another stone broke free from the ground and took the destroyed ones place in the orbit. Kaze'aze jumped from her stone and landed on another one in the orbit, causing small pieces to fly off in all directions. Lass jumped from the rock he was on and attempted to move closer to Kaze'aze. Ryan and Amy did the same.

Lass landed on a stone that was very near to Kaze'aze's he threw his chain at her but she ht it away with her claw. Lass retrieved the chain and threw it again, as Ryan came up behind Kaze'aze, his crescent blade ready Kaze'aze turned to block Ryan's attack with her claw and tried to swipe at Lass' chain. Due to the distraction Ryan caused Kaze'aze missed the chain and it coiled around her claw. Lass jumped from the stone he was standing on and swung below Kaze'aze's. He pushed his scimitar far into the stone and held onto it so he could hang underneath. He pulled on the chain, stopping Kaze'aze from using her right claw and pinning her to one side of the stone. Ryan held his crescent blade in front of him as he dashed towards Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze swiped at him with her free claw but missed due to her lack of mobility. She tried to lift and swing her chained arm but Lass held tightly to his scimitar and pulled back on the chain in an effort to prevent his arm from coming off. Kaze'aze stumbled because she couldn't release her arm from the chain and Ryan smashed his crescent blade into her head. Kaze'aze's fur really was like armor, Ryan discovered, as he felt the shock from his vibrating blade run all the way up his arm, numbing it. He switched his weapons arm and jumped backwards to remove himself from Kaze'aze's attack range. Kaze'aze's eyes were slightly closed and it took her longer than usual to raise her head. Although Ryan lost use of his arm for a time, it seems he did damage her. Kaze'aze finally lifted her head, she then lifted her free claw and smashed it into the rock they were standing on. Ryan looked worried and immediately charged Kaze'aze with his crescent blade in his movable arm. He avoided Kaze'aze's attacks , ran past her head and smashed his blade on Lass' chain, trying to release it. As soon as hte chain was released and had fallen off the stone Ryan jumped to a new stone that was nearby. lass had to wait for the rock to break before he could dislodge his scimitar but the moment it did he spun in the air and latched his chain onto Ryan's rock, swinging onto it and just barely missing the falling debris.

"She's tough," Lass said as he watched Kaze'aze fall onto a new stone that was beneath the one she destroyed.

"Did you expect less?" Ryan pointed to a stone nearby to the one Kaze'aze was on. "We need to use that one."

"How?"

"Just try get her on top of it, trust me."

"Ok then, I'll try." Lass threw his chain to the rock that Ryan had indicated. He swung to the rock and stood on top of it, swinging his chain in a circle at his side. Kaze'aze saw Lass and charged fire into her mouth. Lass swung his chain, aiming for her open mouth. Kaze'aze was forced to close her mouth before she was able to spit the fire. She lashed at Lass with the fur on her back. Before the fur reached Lass, Ryan came from behind and hit Kaze'aze on the back of her head with his crescent blade. He then flipped over her head and jumped to the rock that Lass was on. Kaze'aze stood on her hind legs and thunder began falling on the Lass and Ryan's location. They carefully and nimbly avoided the thunderbolts. Kaze'aze then threw two dark orbs at the rock. Ryan threw an orb of energy, as he would when transformed, and Lass fired his chain at the orbs, destroying them before they hit the rock. Kaze'aze became angry at the two warriors and leapt from her rock to theirs.

"To the side, quick!" Ryan yelled as he dove as far to the side of the rock as he could without falling off. Lass followed suit. Kaze'aze landed and roared. Suddenly the three heard a quick melody and a large magical circle with a musical note in the centre opened up beneath Kaze'aze. The circle began firing off beams of pink energy which didn't hit Kaze'aze but instead flew over her and attached themselves to the other side of the circle. Before long Kaze'aze was forced and pinned down. Lass looked around and found Amy playing her violin on an entirely different rock. She stopped playing for a moment and changed her bow's position, then she began again, this time with a slightly slower melody. This time orbs of energy rose from the magic circle around Kaze'aze. Lass jumped off the air and went up next to Amy. Ryan jumped to a different rock that was close enough to get to. As soon as tehy were off my changed the tempo and the orbs exploded, one after another. Roars of pain could be heard from Kaze'aze as Amy's magic exploded around her. As the smoke from the explosions began to fade an enormous figure jumped from the rock. Lass quickly wrapped his arm around Amy's waist and used his chain to swing off the rock just as Kaze'aze landed. Amy began playing again and another magic circle opened on Kaze'aze's new rock. This time only four beams wrapped around her paws, anchoring her to the rock. Lass could hear Amy panting at his side as he touched down on another rock.

"Sorry, that first attack took to much out of me." She apologized.

"Don't worry you did some real damage to her, leave the rest to us." The two looked down and saw Kaze'aze breaking the strings of energy that had her anchored. "Find a safe place and hide, rejoin us when you get some energy back."

Lass threw his chain and swung down to a rock which was closer to Kaze'aze, he saw Ryan land on a rock on the opposite side of her. While Kaze'aze focsed on Lass, he saw Ryan point upwards, towards the rock that was at the centre of the other rocks orbit. Lass nodded slightly, thinking he understood. INstead of attacking Kaze'aze like he had been he jumped to a higher rock and another after that. Kaze'aze fired orbs of darkness at Lass, destroying every rock he jumped off of and replacing them with new ones. After four or five orbs Kaze'aze started jumping after Lass. Lass started using his chain to cover longer distances and keep away from Kaze'aze. He started taking a strange path going down before coming back up, leaving Kaze'aze confused but allowing her to catch up to him. Kaze'aze started dropping lightning bolts near Lass as she chased him down. With Kaze'aze only a single rock away from him he reached his goal of the centre stone. He jumped as far along the stone as he could, landing very near the back edge. Just as Kaze'aze came into sight Arme opened her cauldron firing a torrent of rock and magic at the monster and Lire began firing off beams of green energy into her chest. Lass heard a distinct sound from behind Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze writhed in the air and Lass saw Elesis with her spear embedded deepl into Kaze'aze's back. Ryan came flying up in Nephilim form and punched Kaze'aze, causing her to fly a short distance further into the air. Ryan caught Elesis and joined Lass, Lire and Arme.

"Now Shinryu!" Ronan screamed from behind the five as Shinryu unleashed a large orb of energy into Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze went flying backwards, smashing through three of the large rocks, which were immediately replaced, and finally losing enough momentum to crash and stop on the fourth that she hit. Ronan jumped down onto the rock with the others and returned Shinryu to his world.

"Where were you guys while me and Ryan were fighting!" Lass yelled angrily.

"Are we missing someone?" Ronan asked sounding worried.

"Where's Amy!" Elesis screamed.

"She was worn out, so she's resting on a different rock." Lass explained.

"Which one!"

"I don't know! All those detours I took got me turned around!"

"There she is!" Lire exclaimed as she pointed down at a rock that was approaching the rock that Kaze'aze was on. To make matters worse, Kaze'aze was beginning to get back up. Ryan, still in Nephilim form, went flying off the rock towards Amy. He sped past Kaze'aze, who was up and ready to attack, and charged for Amy. He grabbed her just as Kaze'aze threw a dark orb at them. The rock was destroyed behind them as Ryan sped away from Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze gave chase but Ryan's wings gave him a distinct advantage over Kaze'aze and he easily got away from her. Ryan hid behind one of the rocks as Kaze'aze went by, heading towards the centre rock. Rya then landed on a nearby rock, out of Kaze'aze's sight. He had been in Nephilim form for to long and took his original form as soon as he landed. Because his arms had gotten smaller Amy was forced to wrap her arms around his neck to stop herself from falling. She carefully got out of Ryan's arms as he dropped to one knee, panting heavily.

"Go help them... I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, now go, quick. We gotta stop Kaze'aze, I'll be joining you guys if you give me a few minutes."

Amy nodded, "Alright, be careful." Amy jumped from the rock and headed towards the centre.

Kaze'aze reared back her head and fired an enormous fireball at the warriors. Arme opened her cauldron to absorb it, but it was to powerful and some of it made it through so Ronan guarded with his dragon arm. Even so Ronan's arm was slightly burned.

"That fire is really concentrated." Ronan commented. "Grant's lightning didn't even phase me but this..."

"Well luckily I got some of it to help us, "Arme said, still absorbing the attack. "Everyone split up!" Lire jumped to another rock at Arme's words. Ronan called Shinryu to carry him and Elesis since neither were good at jumping and Lass grabbed Arme around her waist and swung off of the rock. Kaze'aze jumped and landed on the centre rock just as Amy reached Lire's rock.

"She took the centre back." Amy commented.

"Don't worry Amy, she just gave us exactly what we were waiting for, we can win now."

"What?"

"Fire. We made a plan when Ryan went to get you, Everything I have to do is ready so now it's up to Lass and Arme. You get some attack ready as well."

"When do I attack?"

"You'll know." Lass jumped from rock to rock and stopped just in front of Kaze'aze. He stared directly into her glowing green eyes. Kaze'aze dropped lightning bolts on Lass' location which he nimbly avoided. She added the fur on her back into the attack and Lass continued to carefully avoid any damage. She threw a dark orb while still dropping the lightning and attacking with the fur. Lire raised her crossbow and shot a beam of green energy, destroying the orb before it got anywhere near Lass.

"Why aren't we helping him?" Amy asked Lire, concerned.

"Just watch, it's starting." Amy looked up to see that Kaze'aze had become frustrated and was charging the immensly powerful fire breath. Lass stood there, staring at her and doing nothing else. Kaze'aze pushed herself to the rock she was standing on with her stomach almost to the ground and then pushed forward releasing the flame breath. Lass smiled and threw the chain directly into the centre of the fire breath and it engulfed him. Amy tried to charge forward to help Lass but Lire held her back. Suddenly, the fire stopped and Kaze'aze let out a pained roar. Amy looked at her to see that Lass's chain had gone in threw her mouth and came out her back, latching itself onto the rock. She looked back at Lass, he was slightly singed but had no serious damage.

"I'm next!" Lire said as she jumped to a new rock and began firing bolts in a way that seemed almost random. The bolts flew through the chains of lightning that were holding the rocks in the air. As the bolts passed through the lightning Lire turned them into the green energy, severing and cancelling the lightning bolts. The rocks began to fall. Lire snapped her fingers and bolts on the bottom of each rocks activated pushing them into the sky. She brushed her hair from her face and snapped her fingers again causing a secon bolt in each rock to activate and fire towards Kaze'aze. The rocks impacted and blew to pieces as they bombarded kaze'aze weakened and pinned down form. Lire landed back on the rock with Amy. "Your turn."

Still confused, Amy began playing a song that fired several beams of energy into Kaze'aze, causing her to scream out in pain. She heard the flap of wings behind her as a large orb of clear energy came rushing past them and adding to the damage that Amy's song was causing. Amy turned around to see Ryan in Nephilim form land and revert to his elvish form. He was panting heavily, lacking energy.

"How is Lass alive?" trying to ignore his own fatigue.

"Why do you think we needed Kaze'aze's fire? Arme made him resilient, Alchemy really is very convenient. I'm out of bolts now, but Ronan and Elesis should be finishing up any second now." Amy looked back up at Kaze'aze. Shinryu flew over head.

"Now Shinryu!" Shinryu unleashed a stream of fire onto Kaze'aze's writhing, monstrous body. "You're up." He told Elesis who was sitting behind him. Shinryu stopped it's stream as Elesis launched herself off of it's back. She held her spear behind her back and jabbed it down just as she reached the rock, piercing Kaze'aze's head and crushing her skull. Ronan dropped down next to Elesis and returned Shinryu to his home. He walked over and released the end of Lass' chain so he could retrieve it.

"She's dead." Elesis said as she pulled her spear from Kaze'aze's head. "For real this time, I hope."

"Let's hope." Suddenly Ronan and Elesis felt the rocks beneath them shake. "They're going to fall!" Ronan yelled to the others, "Find a way off quick!" Ronan summoned Shinryu who picked up him and Elesis. Shinryu then rushed over to get Lass and grab Arme. Ryan forced himself to his feet and transformed into the Nephilim, again. He picked up Amy and Lire, spread his wings and jumped off the rock. The seven warriors managed to make it down before the many rocks crashed to the ground, breaking apart in the enormous crater that Kaze'aze had created in front of her castle.

"It's over this time, right?" Amy asked as she and Lire supported an exhausted Ryan.

"We can only hope," Ronan answered. "That's what we thought before and look at what happened."

"Well Kaze'aze's dead again, at the least." Arme commented as she looked down into the crater where all the rocks had fallen. On top of the rocks was the broken body of Kaze'aze. The beatly body began to glow blinding the warriors for a moment. When the light died down the Beast had been replaced by Kaze'aze's human body, once again decapitated. The body and head fell between cracks in the rubble, dissapearing from sight.

"Let's get going." Lire suggested as she dropped Ryan's arm and sat on the ground. "I think that potion Arme gave me is wearing off."

"Probably, Lass, Ronan one of you carry her!" Lass picked Lire up and carried her on his back. "Let's go." Arme was about to take the lead but stopped when she noticed someone walking towards them.

"What's wrong Arme?" Elesis asked.

"The Knightmaster." Arme answered pointing straight ahead. Elesis looked forward and saw that Knightmaster Aurora was certainly walking towards them.

"Knightmaster Aurora? What are you doing here?" Elesis yelled as she ran up to her.

"I heard you kids were going up against Kaze'aze soon. I had hoped to arrive and speak to you before you left but I had trouble finding a ship."

"How did you hear about us all the way on Bermesiah?"

"I've been on Ellia for some time now, helping to keep monsters away from Orinig while you kids prepared for your battles."

"You're the reason why Orinig has been safe from Kaze'aze's soldiers?" Aurora nodded.

"I see, thank you."

"Yes, however that's not why I'm here."

"What's wrong?"

"We never told you kid master Urashin's full prophecy."

"Full prophecy?"

"Yes. Master Urashin predicted everything that Kaze'aze did however, in a seperate reading, he saw a figure of evil. The figure was that of a normal man, but the evil he saw was great. He also saw that defeating this evil will once again, fall to you. It's not something we want to force upon you and so, of course you have every right to refuse."

"We already beat Kaze'aze, what out there could be any worse?" Ryan asked confidently, despite his lack of energy.

"I only wish we knew. You all fought Kaze'aze for us, that alone is something we can never thank you for and so please think carefully about what you want to do next."

"I'll fight." Ronan said without hesitation. "I'll fight, no matter who comes against me."

"Ha, yeah, now that Kaze'aze's dead and I'm free from this curse I want to make sure the world's around for me to live in." Ryan added.

"I'm still finding myself, however if this is something that only I can do, I will do it and I will make sure there is a world for my true self to live in."

"Father is avenged, but he loved the world I won't let it be destroyed or taken over or whatever this new enemy wants."

"Eryuel island can't back out now, of course I'll help."

"I'm the only one left of the violet mage guild, you're clearly going to need me."

"I don't really know what's been going on or why someone like me was chosen to do this but if I can protect people then I'll fight with all my might."

Aurora stared at the seven warriors who had all answered immediately and without hesitation. "Thank you." She said almost silently, "You kids are truly inspiring."

"So then, I guess our first order is to find our next enemy."

"Allow me to save you the trouble." A new voice said from behind Aurora. Everyone looked towards the voice. Walking slowly and clamly down the same road that Aurora came on was a man, roughly the same age as Aurora. His jet black hair fell over his piercing eyes and his lips were twisted into a sinister smile. He wore very light armor and strapped to his back was a giant sword. Aurora's eyes widened in surprise.

"Faren?"

"It's been awhile, Kat. A lot has happened since we separated. I've gained... amazing power."

"Faren you can't be the one from the prophecy."

"Oh, but I am, this world is mine for the taking as soon as I kill those worthless heroes."

"What happened? We all thought you had died alongside Eiau!"

"Who told you that?"

"Grant, of course. He was the only one with you two, when it happened!"

"Oh my, you still don't know, about Grant?"

"Don't know what?"

"He was a traitor." Ronan said from behind Aurora. "He had been working with Kaze'aze."

"What?"

"Yes indeed, he had been obeying the commands of that woman and I had been pulling her strings all along." Aurora drew her blade. The warriors also drew their weapons, though they were all worse for wear, with the exception of Lire and Ryan who didn't have enough energy left to fight. Aurora looked deeply into Faren's eyes. "One on six isn't particularly fair, you know. Perhaps I'll call in some backup."

Faren turned and snapped his fingers. A giant demonic creature appeared behind him. The creature had black skin with gold cuffs around his arms and legs. It had green magic markings along it's arms, two enormous bat-like wings on his back and spiky white hair.

"Kill them, Anmon." The creature, named Anmon, charged forward at a ridiculous speed that put Kaze'aze's beast form to shame. Aurora threw her hand forward and a wall of ice appeared in front of her. Anmon rammed the ice headfirst causing it to crack, though not break. Faren raised his arm again, "Come back Anmon." he called as Anmon stopped pushing against the ice and returned to Faren's side. Aurora dropped the ice barrier in an attempt to regain energy in case they needed another. "My, your ice magic has grown quite powerful, hasn't it? Being able to stop Anmon's charge, quite powerful indeed. Perhaps I need more backup."

"He has more!" Arme exclaimed sounding frightened. Faren snapped his fingers again and a giant red monster with a single eye appeared behind him. Afterwards the earth behind him began to lift into the air and form up into the shape of a man creating a giant stone golem. The warriors could feel that both creatures had immense power.

"Now how about, a little reunion?" Faren raised both his arms to the sky and brought htem down hard causing darkness to fly up from the ground. The warriors couldn't believe what came out of the darkness. The first to exit the darkness was Gaikoz, however he was different. His armor had changed. What was once blood red armor with golden trim had become a deep purple with blue trim. His white mask was replaced by a black one and his eyes now glowed gold rather than red.

"Gaikoz?" Ronan asked stupidly. "You... you're..."

"Yes, thanks to master Faren, I now have another chance to punish the world for the death of my wife. And you, my young descendant, shall bear witness to it all." Ronan stepped back, frightened as he remembered the last time he had fought Gaikoz. "Grant isn't here to save you this time boy. I still wonder, why he destroyed me in the first place but, only one person can answer that question and he rots in the ground as we speak." Ronan clenched his teeth as Gaikoz continued insulting Grant.

"No!" he heard Arme yell from beside him. He looked back to the darkness to see Elena coming from the darkness. She was clearly Elena but her purple dress was now pure black and her bluish hair had become a shining silver. The staff she held in her hand now looked far superior and far more dangerous than her old one. "Elena, not you to."

"Yes, thanks to master Faren I've been given another chance to kill you and prove to Urashin that I was always the better pupil. Afterwards I shall take my rightful place as ruler of this world."

"You always were better." Arme muttered under her breath as she fought back her tears.

"Well now, this is certainly more fair isn't it. Six on six, wonderful." Faren said mockingly.

"I guess I have no choice." Aurora said as she reached into her armor and pulled out a strange pendant.

Faren raised an eyebrow. "Oh my, didn't I give you that? You held on to it all these years?"

Tears started to form in Aurora's eyes. "Of course I did, you gave it to me, but now it's time to destroy it." Aurora squeezed the pendant until it shattered in her hand. She threw the pieces behind her, passed the seven and onto the ground. The pieces began to shine and they disappeared, becoming an enormous portal. "Go through there, I'll hold them here."

"But if you stay, you're going to die!"

"I have to hold them here so none of them follow you. Now go, quickly!" Elesis reluctantly turned and ran towards the portal, helping Lire up as she went. Amy and Arme helped Ryan and they went through the portal. Faren pointed at the warriors and the portal and gave the order to attack. All five of his minions charged at once. Aurora unleashed as much energy as she could into an enormous wall of ice that barely held up from the onslaught of attacks. Ronan looked back at Aurora as he entered the portal.

"Thank you and, goodbye." He said as he ran through the unknown portal to a new and unknown place.

Aurora closed her eyes as her magic began to run out. Tears ran down her face as the wall melted, quickly. _"Good luck to you all, If only I could have been of more help."_ Aurora's ice wall shattered and the five enemies, along with Faren stood on the other side, waiting for her. Suddenly aurora felt something around her waist. She looked down to see a chain had wrapped itself around her. She looked back to find that Lass was standing just in the entrance of the portal as it closed.

"You dying here, won't do anyone any good." He pulled hard on the chain, lifting Aurora off the ground and pulling her into the portal just as it closed. Faren stood there, staring at the empty space, calm as ever. He grunted and walked to the giant crater Kaze'aze had left behind. He threw a dark orb into the crater which found it's way down below the rubble. A burst of dark magic erupted from below the rubble, blasting it away and there stood Kaze'aze, revived. Her red dress has become black, her skin had gone from white to tan and her black hair had become blonde. She floated to the edge of the crater just in front of Faren and opened her eyes. She stepped back, almost repulsed at who she saw.

"You! But I killed you."

"And now I've revived you, and so you shall serve. I will give this chance and allow you to rule when all becomes mine. Do you accept."

"Yes..." Kaze'aze answered without the need for serious thought. "I will serve you and so we can bring this world to it's knees."

* * *

The sun beat down on a large shrine. In front of the shrine a young girl with short, light pink hair decorated by a pink flower ornament swept the leaves. She wore a loose fitting, white, silk robe and red hakama. Suddenly there is a quiet yet very strange noise in the room directly behind her. She slowly walked forward, and pushed the door open just slightly, just enough for her to see inside. Inside, eight people lay unconscious on the ground. She held in her voice and slowly closed the door. She walked, calmly and coolly, along the outer hall and enteed a large room. Inside, a large, older man with deep red hair sat at a small table, which was very low to the ground, sipping alcohol from a small cup. He wore a loose fitting blue robe which hung over only one shoulder leaving the other exposed. The young girl walked to the other side of the table and sat on her knees with her hands folded in her lap. The man refilled his cup from the bottle resting on the table and drank it before he spoke.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?"

"I believe they're here, the one's you spoke of. Master Eiau, is it finally beginning?"

* * *

Phew geez, now I'm even more tired. And I feel the need to explain (Because I'm almost certain that there's going to be someone out there who will think this is a naruto cross-over) the Sakura here is the Sakura pet that could (at one point) be obtained from Gacha in game. I loved looking at her picture (Very well done) And I'm kind of a japanophile so I figured I'd slip her in.

Well please review. Cya


	27. The new world, old faces

Ok, I'm back.

Shinice: Yeah, you were supposed to be confused. As for the characters, Eiau is Elesis' father. Apparently the official name of Elesis' father is Elscudt, or something to that effect, but I only discovered that very recently and I don't like the name, to be perfectly frank, so I'm gonna stick with Eiau. Faren was mentioned a little bit, very close to the beggining of the story. Go back to the end of chapter four and the beginning of chapter five and you'll see his name pop up but I disclosed little to nothing about him (He is an OC btw). Now to the question, Eiau and Faren have not appeared before. When Aurora said "we all" She was referring to an older group of warriors from years before, not the group that this story follows. If you want answers read this chapter, if you want to stop being confused read this chapter, if you want cookies read this chapter, I don't care what you want just read the chapter, kay.

On another note this is where the story gets more original, I won't be surprised if I lose readers here, those who do stick around, thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy my story.

* * *

The large man, Eiau, and the young girl, Sakura walked to the room where the eight people had mysteriously appeared. Eiau pushed the door open and surveyed the room.

"Where is the eighth?" He asked Sakura. Sakura quickly counted the people lying unconscious on the ground

"One of the boys is missing. There was a boy with Silver hair just a few minutes ago."

"Where could he have gone?"

"I don't know, but if he woke up then we have to find him before he leaves the grounds or there could be problems."

"True, it would not do for someone dressed as them to walk around with real weapons. I shall find him. Collect their weapons and put them somewhere safe." Sakura nodded and began taking the weapons from the hands of the sleeping warriors. "Do what you can, I will be back to help you with the heavy weapons shortly." Eiau ran away from the door, his eyes glancing around, looking for the missing boy. The grounds of the shrine were quite large, and it would take him some time to search them all. After no more than ten minutes of searching, he heard Sakura scream loudly. He rushed back to the room where the unconscious warriors slept. Sakura was pressed against the wall just outside the door with a thick chain wrapped around her neck. Eiau looked up to the roof where the chain was coming from. "What are you doing!" he yelled, "Release your weapon this instant." Lass appeared on the edge of the roof, keeping his chain loose enough so that Sakura could breathe a bit, but perfectly ready to tear her head off, if need be.

"Return to my companions their weapons and release them, once you do I shall release her."

"You don't understand, we aren't your enemies we don't want to hurt you."

"We appear in an unknown place and you take our weapons while we sleep. What else could you be doing?"

"We were trying to avoid what you are doing right now."

"Is that so? And why should I believe you?" Eiau spread his arms.

"I am unarmed, come down and kill me now if that is your wish." Without releasing the chain Lass jumped down in front of Eiau and held his scimitar to his throat.

"So you want to die then?"

"If that will calm your suspicions then I shall not resist, but please spare Sakura." Lass stared into the man's eyes. After a short time, he released the chain and dropped the scimitar. Eiau ran over to Sakura, who seemed to be having trouble catching her breath

"I'll believe you, for now. What you did takes guts, you're just lucky I found more emotions before you tried that. Now tell me what's going on."

"I will, in due time. First we should wait for the others to awaken so that you all may hear what I have to say."

"That's fine, but I'm still not convinced your a friend, until then I keep my weapons and I get to watch over their's."

"Very well. Until your friends awaken do whatever you must to calm your suspicions. Lass collected the remaining weapons and Sakura, keeping Eiau close by, Showed him where she had stored the lighter weapons that she had collected earlier. Lass placed the weapons a good distance from the door and sat in the middle of the room, hand on his blade and chain ready to be thrown, watching the door.

* * *

Aurora was the next to awaken. She pushed herself off the ground and looked around, confused. She didn't know where she was or why she was there. She remembered that Lass had saved her but everything past that was a blur. She walked towards the open door that allowed the sunlight to shine in the room. She stepped out the door and saw Sakura tending to the fish in a small pond a distance away. Aurora instinctively reached for her sword only to find that she didn't have it. She stayed on guard as she approached Sakura, who's back was still turned.

"Who are you?" Aurora asked. Sakura jumped up surprised. She turned around.

"Oh, hello. You were one of the people from the other world. Please follow me, I will show you to father."

"Other world?" Sakura looked back at Aurora.

"I'm not to clear on the details, you'll need to speak to father if you want your questions answered. Oh and please don't tell him that I call him father when he's not around." Sakura blushed a little as she turned and walked towards the large shrine. Aurora followed, still on guard. Sakura led her to a room where Eiau sat, sipping his alcohol. "Master Eiau, another has awoken." Eiau glanced towards them.

"It's good to see you up, Kataleen. Sakura, please find something for her to wear." Sakura bowed and left the room. "It has been some time since we last saw each other."

"Eiau? We all thought that you were dead, along with Faren." Was the only thing that Aurora could think to say at first.

"Is Faren alive?"

"Yes but... he's not Faren anymore. He kept the name but... he absorbed a lot of dark powers and now is a greater threat to our world than Kaze'aze ever was." Eiau stayed surprisingly calm as this information came to him.

"I see... that is, unfortunate. What happened after the last battle."

"Grant came out, alone, and he told us that you and Faren had died weakening Kaze'aze so that he could make the final strike."

"He lied. He betrayed us."

"I know. Tell me... exactly what happened during that battle."

"The ten of us had fought against Kaze'aze, or perhaps I should say Relyne, for some time as I'm sure you remember. You, I, Grant, Faren, Yuria, Riallan, Shuren, Urashin, Aria and Amanda. We had all fought desperately, for so long, in an attempt to rid our world of her evil. We had chased her down, fighting at every turn. Many of us were injured, others used to much power and could no longer fight. Grant, Faren and I were the only ones who could still fight when we finally pinned her down. We entered the castle, alone, just the three of us, while the rest of you waited outside and hoped for the good news. We fought for a long time, with all our might, all our energy and she did the same. Finally she was weakened enough, we could have destroyed her right there when... Grant turned on us. He attacked me and Faren, giving her enough time to restore some of her energy. They stood against us, the strongest member of our group at the time had turned and joined our strongest enemy, Faren and I stood no chance. Faren pulled an amulet from his pocket. He said that he would save me. He believed that as long as someone from our group lived, Kaze'aze could be defeated. He knew that he was one of the weakest in our group and so he decided that he would save me. He crushed the amulet and a portal appeared. He told me that only one person could go through it to the other world, where they would be safe, then he pushed me in. That is where my knowledge stops. I know nothing about why Faren had the amulet or why he knew of this world, we'll just have to ask him that ourselves. Anyway, I awoke in this world, in that very room where you had been. I met the priest of this temple, we spoke for some time and I began living here, as I searched for a way back to our world. The priest, my friend, fell ill and died and so I adopted his daughter, Sakura, and took over as the priest of this temple for him."

"So you're a priest here?"

"Yes, I live here. I am what is known as a Shinto Priest, Sakura is what is called a Miko. we watch this shrine, hold festivals and do other things for the people who live nearby."

"Does this world have a name?"

"The world itself has no name, like ours. The various worlds were never meant to come in contact with each other, what need have they for names? The country we are in right now is known as Japan. Now more than ever we must find a way back to our own world. This world has no monsters, no magic, people can live in peace without the fear of dark beings such as Kaze'aze. It has it's own problems but the truth is, when compared to our world, which is incredibly primitive in contrast, this place is paradise. However it is not our world."

"You're right, we must return to our own world, that world is our responsibility, not this one."

"Now I have my own questions."

"Of course, I'm sure you have a lot to ask."

"First, explain to me why the children are here." Aurora took her time and explained to Eiau about Urashin's prophecies. She explained the role of the young warriors, what they had done thus far and the story of how she came to be sitting in front of him. "I see, so we were never meant to fell Kaze'aze. May I ask, what of Ariann?"

"I'm sorry, Eiau. Ariann died shortly after we delivered the news of your death. I believe that Elesis was taken in by the Erudon family afterwards."

"I see, a few of the faces in that room looked familiar. Are Elesis and Ronan a part of the chosen, by any chance?"

"Yes, they have both grown into fine warriors."

"Elesis, is one of the chosen... she has grown into a beautiful young lady, I'm happy that she's safe. Can you tell me of the others. Aria, Urashin and the rest."

"We don't know. When Grant appeared and gave us the news that Kaze'aze had been defeated, Shuren disappeared without a trace. We merely assumed that he had gone home to take care of his brother, he never was one to waste time with pleasantries. When we went to speak to him, about helping us fight Kaze'aze again, we couldn't find him, or the younger brother that he had told us about. Yuria returned to the forest. It wasn't long before they were attacked by the orcs. Many elves were killed and only a few tribes remained. Yuria went to Eryuel Island, along with Lire, another of the chosen. She later disappeared without a trace. Urashin took in an orphan before we went after Kaze'aze. After the battle he returned to his guild and trained that orphan, she is another of the chosen. From what I've heard, he heard the spirits calling him and climbed a mountain to speak to them. He never came back down and no body was recovered. Riallan returned with Yuria, however, when the orcs attacked he stayed in the forest with one of the tribes. Many tragedies occured in that forest that I know little about, however, I was informed that Riallan left no body to be discovered when the rest of the elves were killed. Also, one of the chosen was a member of the tribe he stayed with. Aria returned to Kanavan along with Grant and stayed at the Erudon estate with Ronan and Elesis. One day, she vanished. There is little more information about her disappearance but now that I have learned of Grant's betrayal I think he may have had a hand in it. Lastly we have Amanda. She left us after the battle. She said that it was fun being with us but it was time to return to her daughter and step-son on Silverland. Shortly after she returned, Silverland disappeared, we believe it's still out there but we can't find it so we have little information on her whereabouts or whether she, or her family, is safe."

"I know he betrayed us... but what of Grant?"

"He is dead, killed by Kaze'aze."

"I see... he was a dear friend regardless of what he did. I am saddened to hear of his passing." Eiau closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment before he continued. "On a different subject, do you notice any similarities between the stories."

"Of course, they all disappeared leaving nothing behind. On that note, many of them had connections to the current chosen heroes." Eiau nodded.

"Yes, that's right. I can also fit into that category as Elesis' father."

"Yes, Aria is Ronan's older sister, Yuria took care of Lire when her parents and brother were killed, Arme was adopted by Urashin and Ryan was in the same tribe as Riallan."

"I refuse to believe that this is coincidence. Even so we should assume the worst for the time being. For now we should speak to the new heroes and tell them what we know, explain to them what has happened and decide what must be done for the future." Aurora nodded. The door slid open. Sakura entered carrying clothes that looked just like hers.

"I'm sorry I took so long." She apologized. "I had trouble finding something that I thought would fit her. Sakura placed the clothing on the table and Aurora looked at it, confused."

"Sakura please show her how to wear it. Afterwards, take her to the young man that awoke first, he may listen if she tells him that we're not his enemies. Sakura bowed and led Aurora out of the room. After she had helped Aurora change, she led her to the room where Lass was. Sakura was still to nervous to go near Lass so Aurora went to speak to him alone. He finally accepted that they meant them no harm and left his weapons in the room with the others. Afterwards he followed a nervous Sakura to get some clothing from the world they were in.

Lass entered the small room where Aurora and Eiau were waiting. He was now wearing a silver dress shirt and black dress pants. He clearly didn't know how to wear the shirt as each button was two holes off, causing the collar to be bunched up on the left of his neck and the right of the shirt to be hanging down his right leg.

"This clothing is strange and uncomfortable." Lass commented as he entered. Eiau pinched his forehead, just above his nose, with his index finger and thumb and shook his head.

"It's not uncomfortable if you wear it properly." Before Lass could ask how he should wear it, Sakura entered the room.

"Excuse me, two more of the..." Sakura trailed off as she saw Lass' shirt. She walked up and fixed his shirt for him. Afterwards she crossed her arms and stared at him.

"... Thank you, and I'm sorry... again."

"What were you saying Sakura." Eiau asked.

"Oh, right two more were awake when I went back, so I took them and got them dressed." Lire and Ronan came into the room from behind Sakura. Ronan was dressed in loose blue jeans and a navy blue T-shirt while Lire wore a green sun dress with yellow trimming. Sakura had also untied their hair and gave Lire a hairband, which was decorated with a green ribbon, to keep her bangs out of her eyes. Sakura bowed and left the room to keep an eye on the others.

Lire and Ronan both took a seat next to Lass before they started talking. "What's happening?" Lire asked while Ronan kept his eyes closed, in thought. "Where are we, where did you get that amulet that brought us here and how do we get back to fight the man who attacked us?"

Aurora looked at Lire. "Lire, we will explain what we can when the others have awoken. There is a lot we need to discuss, however there is also much that I do not understand."

"I will try to fill in any holes in her explanation, however, there are many things that I do not know either." Ronan's eyes opened and his head shot up. After hearing the voice, he finally took a moment to examine the man that was sitting next to Aurora.

"Eiau?" He asked stupidly.

"It's good to see you again Ronan, it has been far to long. I hope you and Elesis are getting along better than when I left." Ronan stood and walked over to Eiau. Eiau also stood. "You've gotten taller on me." Eiau said as he extended his hand to Ronan. Ronan took Eiau's hand and shook it.

"We all... thought you were dead."

"I would be, had a young friend of mine not saved me."

"yes... um... about the engagement..." Eiau laughed at the way Ronan always tried to get everything done at once.

"I was always against that... don't marry Elesis if you don't want to." Ronan nodded embarrassed and sat back down next to Lire. Lire rested her chin in her hand and stared at Ronan, who averted his eyes.

"You and Elesis?" she asked. Lass snickered.

"Even I understand what a joke that is." Ronan just sighed.

* * *

Ryan opened his eyes. He was in the white area within his mind again. standing in front of him was the Nephilim. Ryan pushed himself off the ground and got on one knee. "Lord Nephilim, it is a pleasure to speak with you again. I see that Celeion has succesfully passed on, I am happy for him."

"Indeed, it is time he rested. Ryan... I called you here because there is something we must speak about."

"What is it, lord Nephilim?" Ryan asked as he stood. "Have I lost my transforming capabilities because the curse was broken?"

"No Ryan, what I have to say is much more dire. Ryan, the curse... has not been broken."

"What! But I thought that if we killed the person who cursed me it would break."

"That is true, however it would seem that Kaze'aze revived before the curse could break."

"What? no!"

"Unfortunately, this is so. You also accelerated the curse by using my power when you transformed. I will hold it back for as long as possible.

"I see, thank you."

"We are in luck, the curse has halted since we moved worlds, but it has not broken. When we return to our world then it will begin again. You must ensure that you are ready when that happens."

"I will... but other world, what do you mean."

"I'm sure there are others that can explain better than I can, for now Ryan it's time to wake up. You are the last remaining and they are waiting for you."

"I see." Ryan said without any real understanding of the situation. "Thank you for explaining this, Lord Nephilim." Ryan closed his eyes.

* * *

When he opened his eyes he was in the small room, illuminated by sunlight. He sat up and looked around before walking to the door. Sakura approached him as he exited.

"You're up, that's wonderful. I'm Sakura, Your friends are waiting, please come with me." Ryan noticed that he couldn't find his weapon and since the Nephilim hadn't given him a warning he decided to trust Sakura. He followed her down a long hallway to a large room. Sakura knocked on the door.

"It's ok." Amy called from the other side. Sakura pushed the door open and led Ryan inside. Amy, Elesis and Arme were all inside wearing new clothes. Elesis had on a red t-shirt that exposed her stomach, as well as a white skirt, underneath the skirt she had on black tights. Arme wore a white V-neck t-shirt which was underneath a thin, purple jacket. She wore a black, pleated skirt and black tights. Amy had on a hot pink, long sleeved shirt with holes in the top of the sleeves, revealing her shoulder. It had the design of a blue, winking rabbit on it. Amy was also wearing a pleated skirt that was checkered with pink and red. One thing Ryan noticed about Amy was that her socks were pulled up past her knees. Ryan blushed when he saw the three girls and tried to look away. They all giggled at him.

"Just wait outside, girls. I'll find something for him." Elesis, Arme and Amy all left the room and closed the door behind them. Sakura began looking through the closet that opened from the side of the wall. She turned back to look at Ryan. "You're shorter than the other two, and it took a while to find stuff that fit them. My father's won't fit you, so let's look through my brother's old clothes." She pulled a large box out of the back of the closet and began digging through it. "This may work." She threw some clothes at Ryan. "Those are pretty simple to put on, but call me if you need help." She pushed the box back into the closet and walked out the door to join the girls. "We're just going to wait for him to change."

"What kind of clothes did you give him?" Elesis asked, jokingly. "How bad will he look?"

"I'm sure he'll look fine." Amy said rolling her eyes.

"Well I'll bet Ronan will look worse." Elesis said.

"You haven't even seen Ronan yet." Arme said annoyed. Sakura laughed at the girls.

"Good to see your spirits have lifted a bit from when you woke up."

"Well, we'll get pulled back into that in a little while so we may as well joke around while we can." Sakura gently pulled Elesis's braid towards her.

"You have beautiful hair Elesis, do you ever let it down?"

"Sometimes. But not recently."

"May I?" Elesis nodded and Sakura undid the braid letting Elesis' long hair fall to the ground. "It's lovely but it seems you haven't washed it in a while." Elesis looked at her stupidly.

"There's a way to wash hair?" She asked. Amy and Arme looked just as dubious. Sakura laughed.

"I guess there's no shampoo in your world then."

"What?"

"I'll show you later. Come to think of it, I said most of this to Ronan and Lire earlier." The door behind them opened and Ryan stepped out. He was wearing beige cargo pants, a sleeveless, olive green shirt and an orange overshirt.

"Well shoot, he looks good." Elesis said making Arme and Amy giggle.

"My brother always did have a wild taste in colors but I think it suits Ryan. Ok follow me, everyone's waiting." Sakura led the four to the room where the others waited. She opened the door. "Everyone is awake now." She announced as she entered the room. Ryan and Amy entered behind her and went to sit with Ronan, Lire and Lass. Arme entered next and blushed as soon as she saw Ronan with his hair down, then she looked enviously at Lire's hair. Elesis pushed Arme into the room and entered behind her. She looked at Lass and Ronan.

"Aww, they both look good."

"He didn't a little while ago." Sakura whispered pointing at Lass. Elesis' eyes slid over to Aurora who sat quietly and respectfully in an outfit that looked exactly like Sakura's.

"A knight master shouldn't look that good." Elesis said, feeling defeated. "She doesn't even have any scars or anything." As Elesis' eyes drifted to the next person she froze. She shot a quick glance at Ronan who smiled and nodded, then she broke into a dash towards Eiau, jumping into his arms. She sobbed in his arms, unable to say anything. Eiau smiled and stroked her hair to calm her down. The others watched the scene unfold, even Lass seemed touched.

"Wh-where have y-you been?" Elesis stuttered out. "I th-thought you were d-dead."

"It's all right Elesis, I'm sorry I left. I've wanted to come back and see you more times than I can count, I'm so sorry for leaving you alone."

"I wasn't alone." Elesis responded, beginning to calm down. "Ronan and Thomas and Grant were there the whole time... but still." Elesis buried her face in Eiau's chest again.

After a while Elesis calmed down and released her grip on Eiau. She sat with her friends while Eiau, Aurora and Sakura sat on the other side of the room, facing them.

"Now that everything else is out of the way, we have much to discuss." Eiau began. Eiau started by telling the warriors the story of how he and his nine companions once fought Kaze'aze. It took no time before Amy spoke up.

"Amanda from Silverland?"

"Yes, is there something wrong?"

"Was she a tall woman with a great singing voice?"

"Yes that sounds like her."

"That's my mom."

"Your mother... yet another connection." Aurora spoke.

"Amy, can you tell me what happened to your mother?"

"Well, she returned to Silverland. Afterwards an old friend of hers, Kirion, came and asked if I could accompany him to a new continent for a while. My mom agreed and I wanted to go and see the world so I did. I was supposed to return after a few months but a few days after we set sail, Silverland disappeared. I believe that my Mom, step-dad and step-brother, Jin, were still on Silverland at the time. I wasn't very old when I left and it's been almost a decade now so I have no idea what could have happened."

"I see. So you know no more about your mother than we do. Unfortunate. Well then, for now please continue Eiau." Eiau nodded and continued his story of their battle with Kaze'aze, including the part where Faren sent him to the world they were in. He then explained the information he and Aurora had sorted out earlier about everyone's connections to the members of their group.

"So you are the Eiau that Yuria mentioned?" Eiau laughed.

"Well, she's special we traveled together back before Kaze'aze, when I was still young. in fact, we almost married." Lire's eyes twitched a little at the mention of his brothers fiancee almost marrying Elesis' father. "I also knew Urashin before Kaze'aze, he was a teacher in my home village before he joined the violet mage guild. I must say that I was not surprised at the speed which he ascended the ranks. Also there was another woman in my home village named Relyne. The two of us grew up and learned to fight together... however, I am sad to say, she later became discontent with that lifestyle and left. The name you know her by, is Kaze'aze."

"You grew up with Kaze'aze!" Elesis asked surprised. Eiau tapped his knuckle. "Yes, she was my closest friend and first love. I was travelling with Yuria at the time that she left the village so, I'm not sure what could have triggered her lust for power or her rise to a point of power where chosen heroes became necessary to defeat her." Ryan fidgeted uneasily.

"Actually, she's not dead yet." Everyone's attention was immediately on Ryan. "Before I woke up, I spoke to the Nephilim. My curse is still active because Kaze'aze revived before it could break."

"It must have been that man who revived her." Ronan commented. He then turned to Eiau and Aurora. "I'm sure this is the biggest question that any of us have. Who was that man? On that note, how could have gotten those powers and also why did he call you Kat?"

"You have quite the memory Ronan, very well then let us explain about Faren. Faren appeared when we were training in preparation to go after Kaze'aze. We don't know where he came from and he had selective amnesia at the time. Faren is not even his true name, he never remembered his original name. He had a few artifacts and a sword with him when he appeared that is all we know. We allowed him to join us as he wished to help people live in peace. Now for your other questions, we have no idea where his powers could have possibly come from, in fact we're fairly certain that he was killed by Kaze'aze after he sent Eiau to this world. The reason he called me Kat is nothing special, my original name was Kataleen and he called me by that nickname. He was my fiancee. He was also the one who gave me the amulet I used to bring us here. He told me that, if I crushed it, it would get me out of trouble in a dangerous situation. I'll tell you kids the truth, I didn't know what was going to happen when I crushed it, I was just hoping that it would get you out of there."

"Your fiancee? I'm sorry for making you explain." Ronan apologized.

"Don't worry about it, it was time I told you about him anyways." Suddenly a strange ringing rang through the room. The warriors and Aurora all reached for where their weapons would normally be. Eiau shook his head.

"Sakura, please answer that." Sakura stood, bowed and left the room. "All of you need to stop being so jumpy, this world is safe. What you heard was something called a phone it works something like telepathy magic and allows you to speak to people across long distances." Sakura re-entered the room.

"He wishes to speak to you, master Eiau."

"Tell him I'm busy."

"I tried he wouldn't accept it. He said that you would understand if I told you... um... Harpy's feather Drillmon." Eiau's eyes widened in surprise and he was up and through the door in no time.

"Those are the names of monsters from our world." Ronan commented, "Who could he possibly be talking to."

* * *

"It's nice to finally find you, Eiau."

"You as well, it's nice to know I'm not alone."

"So, are the seven chosen there?"

"Yes as well as Kataleen. She and I have been explaining what we can but I'm sure you have a better grasp of the situation."

"I've done a lot of research preparing for this day. You live in a temple in Tokyo, correct?"

"Yes, that's right. You're intelligence network is rather powerful, isn't it?"

"I'll be borrowing a private jet and flying in tomorrow. Keep those eight from leaving there until then."

"Yes sir, Urashin.

* * *

Well, please review this is one of those big points where I'd would like to hear lots of thoughts on the story.

Well have a nice day.


	28. The first day, training begins

Sigh, My computer broke (Fans stopped working so it's overheating, right half of the keyboard stopped working, power charger broke) So now I'm stuck writing on my parents dinosaur of a desktop computer, it's so slow that I feel like bursting into tears when it takes 15 minutes to get to the site (They really haven't taken care of it and I don't have the patience to find out what's wrong and fix it.) Anyways the point is I may not write much (Out of pure frustration) until my computer gets back and the company's backlogged so it could take a while... Sigh.

Ok, I'm done venting and boring everyone, Enjoy.

* * *

Eiau returned to the room where the others waited.

"We should continue tomorrow afternoon." He said. "Someone is coming who is almost certain to have a better grasp of the situation than I do. Sakura, we do have spare futons in the guest rooms, don't we?"

"Yes, of course." Sakura said as she stood.

"Good, come help me prepare the rooms then. Also, I will need you to drive me to the airport tomorrow morning."

"Oh, that's no probl..." Eiau and Sakura's voices trailed off as they walked down the hall.

"What do you guys think of all this?" Lass asked non-chalantly.

"It's kind of unbelievable that we're in some brand new world." Ryan said as he stared at the ceiling, "Not just that but while we're stuck here, that Faren guy is causing trouble in our world."

"Maybe, maybe not." Ronan added. "He waited a long time before showing himself, if he had appeared before we had all gathered and been accepted by the heroes then he could've destroyed us easily, so why'd he wait."

"Yeah but he appeared, so doesn't that mean his waiting is over?"

"Not in my opinion." Lire chimed in. "He did nothing beyond order his minions when he attacked us. Didn't you guys feel it, he was several times more powerful than his minions, if he had attacked we never would have escaped. Even so, his minions were powerful enough without him, we need to get stronger if we want to stand even the slightest chance."

"So the question becomes, how much stronger do we need to be before confronting him."

"A lot." Ronan responded. "He had control over two former enemies of ours and they're stronger now to. If he's strong enough to control them, then we'll need to be a whole hell of a lot stronger when we go after him."

"Perhaps, the Knightmaster could train us." Elesis suggested. Aurora shook her head.

"I don't think I could do you any good. You've reached the point where just training won't get you where you need to be. You need to learn new tactics, stronger styles or stronger techniques within your current styles. In other words, you need new masters to train you. My combat style is not something that anyone else can learn quickly enough, I'm sorry."

"That's true." Eiau said as he re-entered the room. "Kataleen's style isn't something that could be learned quickly. She is right about you kids learning new techniques, however." Eiau walked to the side of the room and removed a fake wall. Behind the wall was an enormous sword, bigger than him. He picked the sword up and held it over his shoulder with the blade pointing towards the ground. "For as long as you remain in this world, I plan to train you, Elesis." Elesis looked at her father, frightened by his proclamation. She knew how strong and strict he was when it came to fighting. "You, Lass was it, show her where her weapon is kept. Elesis come out back after you have collected your weapon." Lass lead Elesis to the room where the weapons were being kept while the others followed Eiau out behind the shrine. Elesis and Lass came out shortly after with Elesis' lance. Elesis and Eiau stood in the yard facing each other while the others sat on the edge watching them. "We won't begin training yet, for now I merely want to test your current strength." Eiau tightened the grip on his greatsword and his knees bent as he crouched down slightly, like a tiger preparing to pounce on it's prey.

"What do you think's gonna happen?" Amy asked.

"Elesis used to watch Eiau train with Uncle Raq." Ronan answered. "She knows he usually starts with a quick strike, attempting to catch the opponent off guard or crush their defenses. She knows he's fast to, well, as long as he's not out of practice he is. She'll watch and try to dodge, if that fails she'll put everything into a block. If she manages to avoid or block his first strike, then that's when she has to land her blow. If he launches a second attack then she loses right there, she just doesn't have the physical strength to match him."

"Let's begin." Eiau said as he crouched slightly more. Elesis watched him, nervously, as she tried to predict his movement. Eiau pushed off the ground and rushed forward at an amazing speed. Elesis didn't have time to dodge so he held her lance in front of her defensively. Eiau swung his blade over his shoulder, hard. The two weapons collided. The spear snapped in half and flew from Elesis' hands as she went flying backwards, landing on her back. Eiau pulled his sword up mounting it over his shoulder again. "I felt a split-second of resistance, you have potential." All of Elesis' muscles were numb after receiving the impact of Eiau's sword so Ronan helped her stand up. Ryan collected the halves of Elesis' spear which glowed and reconstructed itself in his hands. "That's a convenient weapon, I won't have to hold back during training." Eiau commented as an, almost sadistic, smile crept across his face. Elesis shook a little in fear, she knew he wouldn't hold back when he trained someone and he'd probably be going even harder on her. "Everyone rest tonight, we have more to discuss tomorrow."

Eiau walked back into the shrine and placed his sword with the other's weapons. Ryan returned the spear to the room as well. Sakura, who had changed from her Miko wear into a pair of pink pajamas, came and helped Elesis to the girls room so she could rest her muscles while the others explored the temple. Sakura went to the domestic portion of the temple where the kitchen and living room were located to prepare dinner. As she passed by the living room she noticed the boys staring intently at the blank television, their faces only inches away from the screen. She silently walked into the room, picked up the remote and switched the TV on. All three of the boys jumped back several feet when the TV switched on. Sakura laughed. They all turned to look at her.

"What is this thing?" Ronan asked still somewhat shaken.

"It's called a TV, you use it to watch things that aren't happening right in front of you..." They all looked at her stupidly. "It'll be to hard to explain, just watch this." Sakura flipped to an old samurai movie and left the room. When she entered the kitchen, Lire, Arme and Amy were all crouched down in front of the oven. Sakura sighed, "What's wrong."

"We were hungry, so we wanted to help with dinner." Arme explained, "But there's no room to make a fire under the oven." Sakura shook her head while laughing to herself.

"You guys don't even have electricity in your world, do you?"

"Sure we do." Arme said as she formed lightning in the palm of her hand. Sakura shook her head again. "We're not even using the oven. I'm going to make stew tonight." She walked past the girls and turned the stove on. The girls crowded around as they felt the stove heat up. "This will get annoying, fast." Sakura said to herself as she put on an apron. "Can you girls chop vegetables properly?"

"I can." Lire answered.

"Let me try to." Amy said excitedly.

"I'd better not." Arme answered. Sakura pulled out three spare aprons and handed them to the girls.

"Fine then, Arme go into that cupboard and pull out the big pot and then..." Sakura assigned everyone jobs for dinner. Sakura kicked Amy off of vegetable chopping after she had acquired a handful of bandages. Eventually Amy and Arme left the kitchen since they had nothing left to do and went to join the boys in the living room. Lire and Sakura started talking.

"So Lire, what's your world like?"

"Nothing like it is around here. We cook everything over there using fire for one thing and there's a lot of things I've never seen before in this world."

"Just you wait, we're in the middle of one of the biggest cities on the planet. If you're surprised over all the old-fashioned stuff that we have here, then just wait until we go out into the city."

"Why what's out there?"

"It's impossible to describe but I'm sure you'll be knocked speechless for awhile. I think I'll start small and take you to the cherry blossom trees. You actually came at a great time, they bloom in a couple of weeks, I hope you're still around to see them, they're very beautiful and romantic."

"Well Arme should be happy, then." Sakura giggled.

"She seemed infatuated with Ronan." Lire laughed.

"You've barely seen them together, how could you tell?"

"I work as a Miko, a big part of my job is listening to people's confessions and problems since father refuses to sit and listen for to long. a lot of people come to complain about their love lives and somehow I just learned to notice it."

"Wow, good job."

"So, what about you? "

"What?"

"Are you in love? Someone from your world who I never met, maybe?"

"No, not me. Ronan is the most desirable man I know but I'm not smitten." Lire pulled her hair back to show her ears. "I've been hiding them but I can trust you. We elves live for a while longer than humans so for us, love comes when it comes, we don't try to rush it. Some of us find it when they're twenty and others when they're a hundred. That's basically the same time in our life so it really doesn't matter."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry, you're an elf?" Lire giggled

"Ryan is to."

"Really?"

"You weren't paying very close attention, were you? Unlike me, Ryan doesn't have enough hair to hide his ears so it should have been pretty obvious." The girls laughed.

"Ok, back to the last topic, what about Amy?"

"Couldn't tell you. She joined us after we had made it to the centre of our enemies area of control so we didn't have a lot of time to talk about that kind of stuff."

"Fair enough." Sakura and Lire finished chopping the last of the vegetable and poured them into the broth.

"Now what?"

"Now I have to wait so that I can season it at the right time. And I still have a few more things to cook, cooking for ten isn't going to be easy."

"Let me help you then, when I can. I like to cook, I just haven't had a lot of time for it lately." Lire and Sakura continued their conversation while they cooked.

* * *

Arme and Amy left the kitchen and went to join the boys in the living room. Lass was sitting with his back to the couch, casually watching the TV while Ronan and Ryan were up quite close staring intently at the action sequence on the screen. Ryan jumped up cheering as the protagonist of the story killed his last enemy.

"Don't cheer yet." Lass said, motioning towards the screen. Ryan looked back at the screen as the main character dropped his sword and pulled another, smaller, blade from his robe. He opened his robe and, without hesitation, pushed the blade into his stomach, cutting it open. The screen went black as the protagonist died.

"What the... Why did he do that? Ronan?"

"I don't know. If we want to find out, we should probably ask Sakura." Ronan suggested as he headed out of the room. Ryan followed him. Amy and Arme stopped them.

"She's busy right now, leave her be." Arme told them.

"But I want to know why he did that." Ryan half-whined.

"Then ask later." Amy said as she grabbed Ryan's arm and dragged him back into the living room, making him sit on the floor. Ronan gave up and went back to sit with Ryan. He looked back at the TV. He had no idea what Sakura had done earlier and all that was playing were commercials which used a lot of words that he didn't understand so he lost interest quickly and started talking to the girls.

"So how are you two holding up here?"

"Fine, this world is strange, but it's ok." Amy answered. "Get this they don't even need fire to cook something."

"Impossible. There's no way."

"Yeah, well she and Lire are in there right now cooking and she never bothered starting a fire."

"It's true, I was amazed." Arme chimed in. Ronan turned to look at her causing Arme to blush, slightly.

"Well I won't believe it until someone shows me."

"We're not taking you in there so you can ask Sakura about why that guy did what he did." Ronan looked away, defeated. Amy and Ryan laughed at him. Lass, finally fed up with listening to them, stood up and walked into the kitchen, unseen and unheard.

"So Amy, what happened to your hand?" Ryan asked concerned.

"I tried chopping vegetables, not my best idea."

"You ok?"

"I'm fine, the cuts aren't that bad."

"Well, we worry so tell us if they start to hurt." Amy and Ryan stared at each other for a moment.

"Ok, thanks Ryan. I'm glad to have a guy like you around." Arme and Ronan stared questioningly at the two. "What?"

"Nothing." Arme answered staring at the two with knowing eyes.

"What's that look for?"

"You two seem to get along quite nicely."

"It's not like that Arme, not at all. Besides you're not one to talk about that kind of stuff, not since you won't eve-" Arme Jumped on Amy clamping her hand over her mouth. Amy and Arme wrestled on the ground for awhile as Amy tried to get her voice back. Ryan and Ronan just watched them, laughing.

"I'm just happy that we have a little time to get away from the battle and act like this." Ronan said, pleased. the others agreed.

* * *

Elesis sat in the guest room that Sakura and Eiau had prepared for the girls, rubbing her sore muscles. Aurora entered the room.

"He really worked you over."

"With just one swing, my training's not going to be easy." Aurora smiled.

"You'll get through it, I did." Elesis looked at her.

"My father trained you?"

"In conjunction with Grant, yes. It was very difficult and strange but it worked. Just be ready to be in pain every day for a little while."

Elesis groaned as she fell back on her futon. "Hey Knightmaster, can I ask you something?"

"Certainly. And please call me Aurora, I'm not much of a Knightmaster anymore."

"Oh, ok. That Faren guy, he was your fiancee right? Are you sure that you're ok with us fighting him."

"Thing's change Elesis. Think about it, Kaze'aze was your father's first love yet he still fought against her when she threatened our world."

"But he was already married and I had been born by that time."

"Love does't go away no matter how long you wait, that's just the way it is. I'll always love Faren and your father will always love Kaze'aze. We never know who tomorrow's enemy is and we must be ready to strike down even the ones we love."

"That's just horrible."

"He was watching you as you grew up so I'm sure you know that Grant was unmarried and never went to meet new women."

"Yeah, I noticed that, I always wondered why he never did."

"Once, when I was still in training, I asked him why. He gave me some of the best advice a warrior can recieve. He told me, 'Love is a beautiful thing, it makes you strong and happy, everyone deserves it. Even so, love is something that warriors can never afford to find.' I, personally, think that it is ugly advice, but it's true. I finally understand that, now that our enemy is Faren."

"Love is something that we can never afford to find." Elesis muttered to herself.

"It makes us strong, yet creates a new weakness. I'm not telling you to shut yourself off, your free to do as you wish. I'm just telling you what I was once told." She put her hand on Elesis' shoulder. "Remember to find your own path, and if love is on it then that's fine you just have to work to keep the new weakness hidden, and you must remember that no matter how much you love someone, it may someday be necessary to strike them down. You need to ensure that you're ready to do so, if it comes to it." Elesis stared at the ceiling trying to piece together everything Aurora had said in a way that actually made some semblance of sense. Aurora stood up. "They're making dinner right now so come out in a little while. And don't wait for your body to stop aching because it won't." Aurora left the room, leaving Elesis alone with her thoughts.

"Love is something everyone deserves, yet something that warriors can't afford." Elesis continued to mutter the things Aurora had said as she struggled to figure them out.

* * *

Sakura, Lire and Lass brought dinner into the makeshift dining room they had prepared. Everyone ate and chatted. Ronan and Ryan finally got the answer they were looking for about the movie they had watched and ended up losing their appetite after learning about the tradition of Harakiri. After they had all eaten everyone went to bed, dead tired over the ordeal of coming to a new world. The girls and guys were seperated into two guest rooms each set up with futons. Aurora was given her own room. Eiau and Sakura both retired to their own rooms within the domestic portion of the shrine. Early the next morning an alarm wen toff in Sakura's ear. She turned off the alarm clock and looked at the time. It was six-thirty in the morning. To early to get up on a Sunday, she thought, but she had to take Eiau to the airport so she got up and dressed. Eiau was already up, dressed and ready to go by the time she had finished peparing. Eiau left notes in the rooms to let their guests know that they should not leave the grounds under any circumstances and he left an extra note for Elesis as well as a new outfit from Sakura's closet. With that the two left the temple.

Ronan woke up in a cold sweat. He immediately felt his stomach, relieved that it was still in one piece. He couldn't get the ending of that movie out of his head and had been having bad dreams all night. He looked over to the others. Neither Ryan nor Lass seemed to be having trouble sleeping. He rubbed his head and got up off the floor, heading for the door. He walked down the long hallway, trying to remember which door led to the kitchen and then hoping that he would remember how they told him to get water once he got there. On his way down, he heard someone muttering through one of the doors. He opened the door and walked in. Inside, Elesis was sitting on the floor, stretching.

"What are you doing?" Ronan asked as he approached her. Elesis handed him a note as she took a drink out of a metal bottle that she had with her. the note was in Eiau's handwriting and it told Elesis exactly what stretches to do and then went on to tell her how many push-ups, sit-ups and crunches she was supposed to do before he got back. Ronan was amazed at the high, yet odd, figures Eiau had ordered. "nine hundred sixty-two push-ups, eight hundred twenty-seven sit-ups, what's with the weird numbers?" Elesis shook her head.

"I don't know but Aurora told me that my father's methods would be hard, exhausting and strange, but effective."

"Fair enough, so what are you wearing?" Elesis threw him another note. This one was in Sakura's handwriting and described how to properly put on a sports bra. "And why do you need that?"

"Yeah, I wondered the same thing but it's actually made all this a lot easier. I'm not heating up like I would back when I excercised in my clothes. It's much easier than it was that time we tried excercising in our armor." Ronan chuckled sadly.

"Not our best idea."

"Not YOUR best idea." Ronan sighed

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm not gonna be falling back asleep, mind if I join you."

"That's fine, just don't get in my way." Elesis told him as she started doing her push-ups. "Oh, yeah. They left some excercise clothes for everyone over there. Use them, they'll make it much easier." Ronan walked over to a basket that had sports bras, t-shirts and shorts in it. He picked out some clothes, changed in the hall and started doing push-ups next Elesis.

"So why are you up already?" Ronan asked, "You usually like to sleep later."

"To tell you the truth, and don't tell anyone else about this, I had nightmares about what my father's training will be like. When I woke up I found the note and my nightmare started coming true."

"Yeah. Your just starting and he's already got you doing that many, it'll only get worse from there. Not only that but I heard from Aria that when he trains someone he spends a lot of time just wailing on them at first."

"Oh, right. Your sister got all her physical training from my father, didn't she. But what's up with you, you usually don't like to mention her."

"Well, my hopes aren't up to high, but if uncle Eiau ended up in this world somehow then maybe Aria did as well. She did disappear without leaving a body or anything, after all."

"Let's hope. I'd love to see Aria again."

"Yeah. Anyways about that, uh... arranged engagement."

"What was with that pause, please don't tell me you're suddenly in love with me."

"Get over yourself. I was just gonna say that Uncle Eiau isn't going to push it."

"I knew that. He told me that the day your father started pushing it. Why'd he do that, by the way?"

"Because it's proper tradition for a family of the Erudon's standing. You'd know that if you hadn't skipped your lessons.

"Those were so boring."

"They were only once a week and they weren't that bad."

"I wasn't even part of a high society family like you, why did I have to go to those lessons?"

"Because you were officially adopted after Uncle Eiau disappeared."

"Whatever. let's just forget about it."

"Hey you should consider yourself lucky that Aria and Grant jumped through so many hoops to keep you with us."

"I do, I just wish that they had come to their senses and gotten rid of you." Ronan sighed.

"Let's just stop. It's to early for this."

"Yeah, fine."

* * *

Eiau and Sakura were waiting at the airport. It was eight-thirty, twenty minutes passed the time that they were supposed to meet Urashin.

"How are we supposed to find him again?" Sakura asked.

"I told him where to meet us and gave him your number in case they get lost." Sakura's phone started ringing. "Speak of the devil."

Sakura answered her phone. "Hello. No, this is Sakura, his daughter. No, that's his other daughter, I was adopted. Where can we meet you. I see, ok. We'll be there in a moment." Sakura hung up the phone. "He's just around the corner, waiting for us." Eiau shook his head, exasperated. The two turned the corner.

"There he is." Eiau said pointing at an older man with grey hair. He had piercing eyes that seemed like they could look straight into someone's soul and pull out all their secrets, while also having a very kind demeanor. "Master Urashin, it's been to long."

"Indeed it has, it is good to see your face again Eiau. And this must be Sakura." Sakura bowed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I've heard a lot about you." Urashin bowed.

"A pleasure to meet you as well."

"Well then, shall we go, Master Urashin."

"Hold now, we still have to wait for my luggage. My assistant should be back any minute now."

"You brought an assistant?"

"Yes, he's more well versed in this world's technology than I am and he knows our secret. I believe we can trust him."

"Very well then."

"Mr. Flores, I have the bags." A young man with blonde hair approached them carrying two large suitcases and a laptop bag over his shoulder.

"Ah yes, allow me to introduce you. This is Justin, one of my students at the university."

"Nice to meet you." Justin extended his hand to Eiau, who shook it. "You to." He said as he offered his hand to Sakura. She looked at him, confused. "Um, hi, my name's Justin, nice to meet you."

"Um, hello, I am Sakura." She said slowly, carefully enuciating each syllable. Justin looked at Urashin.

"She said hello and her name is Sakura." He then looked at Sakura. "And his name his Justin, he said hello." Sakura bowed to Justin.

"What's going on, Master Urashin?"

"Oh, don't worry about it, they just don't understand each other, I'll explain later." Eiau picked up one of the bags.

"All right then, follow us."

"Oh yes, Justin, please call me by my true name while were here, to avoid confusion."

"Oh, all right, Mr. Urashin." Justin and Urashin followed Sakura and Eiau to their car where they loaded their bags. Justin and Sakura sat in teh front seats while Urashin and Eiau sat in the back so they could talk during the drive.

"Master Urashin, tell me, how did you come to this world."

"Faren."

"What! Really?"

"Yes, I went up the mountain to speak to the spirits. They explained to me this world, where their power does not effectively reach. Afterwards Faren appeared, he opened a portal and pushed me in. He told me that, we had to be ready when his time came."

"His time came? What was Faren doing, sending us to this world."

"Preparation."

"Preparation? What do you mean."

"This is merely conjecture, mind you, but I believe that Faren knew more than he revealed when we first met him. I believe he sent us here to protect us and he trusted Kataleen to bring the future heroes when it was their time."

"How would he know any of that."

"I have no more than theories, at this time, but I do believe that he sent more than just you and I to this world. When we arrive and I can get into my bags I have something to show you that can prove this."

"You do."

"Yes, a six-year old picture of Yuria. I have done much to try and pin-point her current location and contact her, but I have had no luck. I can only assume that she is using a false name like I do. I remember hearing about Yuria's disappearance before I ended up in this world, I can only hope that it is actually her. I also heard of Shuren's dsappearance, however, we will never find him if he doesn't want to be found."

"From what I have heard, the others of our group, save Grant and Faren, also disappeared. Riallan was the most recent and Amanda's status is unknown."

"Yuria is the only whom I have seen, we have our work cut out for us, if we wish to find the others."

"I just hope we're right about all of us ending up in this world."

"Tell me something. Among the warriros who appeared, is there a girl named Arme?"

"Yes, there is. I heard that you had found and adopted her, and now she is a member of the chosen."

"Yes, I must train her to call the spirits before she leaves. It will be difficult because it is near impossible to call spirits in this world. I will have to teach her the process so she can put it into practice when they return."

"Master Urashin, do you know a way back to our world."

"I have a lead but it has yet to bear fruit. I have several students of mine working to try and find anyone from our old group with the help of composite sketches. Unfortunately things are not going to well."

"I see, changing the subject there is something that has been gnawing at me since we met."

"Justin and Sakura?" Eiau nodded. "They're speaking different languages. Sakura is speaking Japanese and Justin is speaking English."

"I thought they were both speaking Eleneth."

"Ah yes, the language of Ellia which spread and became the universal language for Ellia, Bermesiah and Silverland. This is, once again, conjecture, but it seems that those from our world have our own words translated so that anyone can understand us and we hear everything in our language. Sakura and Justin both come from this world and so they aren't being translated and they can't understand each other. We, on the other hand, can understand everything they say so they may need our help if they ever need to speak to each other."

"So that's how it works." Justin muttered as he dug through his bag and pulled out his laptop along with a portable internet stick. He turned on the laptop and accessed the internet. "Mr. Urashin, Sarah sent us something." He said as he read through his e-mail.

"What is it."

"It seems to be a profile for a man named Garret. Native to America, he disappeared approximately twelve years ago. Take a look at the profile photo." Urashin unlatched his seat belt and leaned forward to see over Justin's shoulder.

"Hand it to me." Justin, carefully handed the laptop back to Urashin. "Take a look Eiau." Eiau leaned over to see the screen.

"That's Faren!"

"Yes, I had my suspicions but it would seem that Faren is actually native to this world. That at least gives some explanation to why he had the ability to send us here, even though we don't have all the details, this is good information." Urashin closed the e-mail and a message telling him that Justin had another new e-mail from Sarah popped up. "Another e-mail from Sarah."

"What does it say?" Justin asked.

"It's just a photo file, taken recently. Who does this look like?" He asked as he slid The computer over so Eiau could see it.

"Aria the Knight of Heaven, so she's here to. Where can we contact her."

"It looks like she's in Vatican City."

* * *

Phew done. Nothing much to say beyond grumbling about my computer so, review and have a nice day.


	29. Urashin's plan

I'm rather pleased with how fast my computer came back, actually they just took a look and mailed me a new one within a day (Though that must have been 2-3 weeks ago by now), well it all worked out.

Anyways Enjoy.

* * *

Eiau, Urashin, Sakura and Justin entered the shrine.

"Sakura, show Justin to one of the guest rooms." Eiau turned to Justin. "She'll show you where to put the bags." Sakura and Justin walked down the hall. "Hmm, it's a bit late for any of them to still be sleeping, so let's see if we can find someone." Urashin and Eiau started by going behind the temple to the open . Ryan noticed the two men immediately and went to greet them.

"Welcome back, Eiau. Who's this?"

"This is Urashin, my old teacher, he has a much greater grasp of our situation than I or Kataleen do."

"I see, name's Ryan. Arme talks about you sometimes, nice to meet you."

"You as well. Are you the boy Riallan lived with?

"Well, I didn't exactly live with him, but he was around and looked out for me because I was an orphan."

"Sounds like Riallan, I wonder what he's doing now."

"He disappeared sir, I don't know where he is."

"Neither do I, but I believe he is in this world, all we must do is find him." Eiau stepped in before Ryan could start asking more questions.

"Do you know where the others are Ryan."

"Huh? Uh, yeah, Ronan and Elesis are in one of the rooms down the hall, exercising, Lire and Amy just went to the kitchen to try and figure out how to cook something, the Knightmaster is in her room and Lass and Arme are wandering around somewhere." A large crash of metal rang out from the kitchen. Eiau sighed as he ran to the kitchen, Urashin and Ryan followed. When they got there, Amy was sitting on the floor, rubbing her thigh, while Lire just shook her head at the pots and pans that had been scattered across the floor. Ryan helped Amy back to her feet.

"This is why I said not to try and grab that." Lire told Amy as she started to pick up the pans. "Sir Eiau, these were all stacked on the counter for some reason, where do they go?" Eiau and Ryan helped Lire and Amy put the pots away, right around the time they finished, Sakura and Justin entered.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked.

"Oh we knocked the pile of pots off the counter so we put them away." Sakura hit her head with the palm of her hand.

"Didn't you look in them? I hadn't washed those yet, and if they had been on the ground then you should have washed them before putting them away anyways." Sakura began removing the pots from the cupboards again. "Go and have your talk, I'll let you know if I need any help."

"Let's save the introductions for when everyone is together, then." Urashin suggested. "Eiau, could you have someone show me and Justin to where we will be talking, I would like to set up several files for easy access before we start."

"Ah, of course. Ryan, this is Justin, please show him and Master Urashin to the room we were talking in yesterday."

"Yeah, sure." Ryan introduced himself to Justin and the three headed out.

"I'll get Elesis and Ronan, Lire, please go and get the Knightmaster, Amy try to find Arme and Lass. We'll have everyone help look once we're all together." Eiau, Amy and Lire split up to get everyone. Eiau, found the room where Elesis and Ronan were working out. At some point during their workout they had fallen into another pointless argument about who knows what. Eiau laughed merrily at the two as he entered.

"It's been a long time since I've heard you two argue like that, it's refreshing."

"Welcome back, Father. I did everything you left for me and some extra."

"I also did what you left for her, but I guess that doesn't really matter, does it."

"Good work you two. Now get changed, our new guests have arrived and we have some more things to discuss. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised about some new information we just obtained."

"All right." Ronan said as he peeled the sweat dampened T-shirt of his skin. He grabbed the clothes he had been wearing before and headed out to the hall. Eiau grabbed a towel and took it out to him, shutting the door so Elesis could change in peace.

After about ten minutes Elesis came out of the room, back in the skirt and t-shirt she had been wearing earlier, although her hair was an absolute mess. Ronan's was no better. Eiau laughed at the two and led them to the room where Urashin, Justin and Ryan were waiting. Lire and Aurora had already arrived by the time they got there. Amy, Lass and Arme were nowhere to be seen.

"Ok, everyone split up and look for them." Eiau commanded, annoyed. "If you don't find them then come back in about thirty minutes." Everyone other than Urashin and Justin split up.

"Arme!" Elesis yelled as she walked down the hall. "There's no way you can't hear me in here! Where are you!"

"She's not around this area, obviously." Ryan said from behind Elesis.

"Hey guys." Amy called them as she came out of a nearby room. "You guys on to looking for them to?"

"Yeah. We're supposed to meet back in about twenty minutes."

"I've been searching the rooms here, where did those two go?" Elesis shrugged.

"Ryan, help Amy search the rooms. I'll keep searching this way." Elesis walked down the hall.

"Search the rooms on that side of the hall, I'll search over here." Ryan nodded and got to work.

"How is this place so damn big anyway?"

In another part of the shrine Lire was busying herself searching for the others. "Where are they?" She muttered to herself.

"Who?" Lass asked.

"You and Arme."

"I'm right behind you, Arme was in Sakura's room earlier reading some thick books." Lire's eyes widened for a moment and she turned around. Lass was standing so unnecessarily close to her that the tips of their noses pressed against each other. Lire blushed and jumped back. Lass raised his eyebrows.

"Something wrong?"

"You were standing so close, what else were you expecting." Lass stepped closer to her, looking into her face.

"Why would that be a problem? Hmmm... your face is rather red, are you not feeling well." Lass pressed his forehead to Lire's. Lire stepped back again

"I'm feeling just fine. I was just embarrassed because you were so close."

"Why?"

"Because people usually don't get that close unless they're about to kiss!" Lire threw her hands up and clamped her mouth shut as soon as she finished her thought, her face growing even redder.

"Kiss? A kiss is when... lip contact, correct?"

"You don't remember what a kiss is?"

"I have a vague idea but is it really that big of a deal."

"Yes it's a big deal! A kiss is a sign of affection and your first kiss is important, at least I think so." A very slight, mischievous smile crossed Lass' face as he leaned closer to Lire.

"So it really means that much, does it?"

"Y-yes it does, of course it does. What are you doing?"

"Hmm, what am I doing." Lass leaned closer.

"Just stop." Lire put her hands on Lass' chest and pushed him away. Lass smirked.

"So why were you looking for me?" Lire breathed heavily as she tried to return her face to it's original colour.

"What's wrong with you?" She yelled at Lass.

"Several things, I still don't understand Love, Sadness or Jealousy. I don't understand half of the emotions that you and the others find common and I don't remember anything from before I was on the streets Hirion. I have no memory of my family either. There's plenty wrong with me, but I do have enough cruelty and humour to tease you with what you deem important... I guess that's another problem in your eyes but the fact that I can tease people is something I'm very pleased about because it means I'm getting closer to being human again." Lire's look of malice shifted to concern.

"Geez, I'm sorry for freaking out."

"Oh, that's exactly what I was going for so it's fine. Anyway what did you need me for?"

"Go back to the room we were in yesterday and meet with the others."

"Fine." Lass walked away. Lire put her hand on her chest and breathed deeply.

"Jerk." She muttered to herself as she headed towards Sakura's room.

Sakura walked into her room, still grumbling about the pots, to find Arme sitting on her bed reading a book. Sakura approached her. "What are you reading, Arme?" Arme mumbled something inaudible and turned away from Sakura, still reading. Sakura reaches down and pulls the book out of Arme's hands.

"Hey!" Arme yelled.

"Why are you reading my history textbook?"

"Come on, give it back!" Sakura held the book up as Arme jumped for it.

"Why did you come in my room anyway?"

"I was looking for something to do and I noticed the books on your shelf." Arme said as she continued jumping to grab the book.

"I can't believe you find this stuff interesting, it gets pretty dull." Sakura gave Arme the book back.

"Fine, but I need it back when I go to school tomorrow. Don't ruin it." Arme took the book and was immediately back into reading.

"Arme?" Lire asked looking into the room. "Finally, I've been looking for Sakura's room for awhile now."

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Lass said she was here and it's time for our meeting... Arme? Are you listening to me." Sakura pulled the book out of Arme's hands again.

"Hey!" Arme tried to grab the book back from Sakura again.

"Later." Sakura told her as she put the book back on the shelf. "Now if you two don't mind leaving I have to change clothes and mind the shrine."

"Oh sorry, let's go Arme." Lire dragged Arme, who was trying to get to the bookshelf, out of the room. "What was so interesting in that book anyway."

"It had the history of this country in it. It's pretty interesting although I didn't understand some of the terms."

"Whatever, you can read it later. For now we have a meeting. Eiau's guests are here now to."

"Who're the new guests?"

"An old man and a blonde guy, I never got introduced. Now come on."

"Fine stop pulling me." Lire let go of Arme and the two walked back to the room. When they entered Arme's eyes widened. Lass, who was leaning over Justin's shoulder examining his laptop, looked up at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked stupidly as Arme rushed past him to Urashin, who stopped her just short of tackling him.

"Where were you!" She yelled angrily, having a very different reaction that Elesis had when she first saw Eiau.

"I'm sorry Arme, I had no control over my coming to this world, just like Eiau."

"But wasn't there anything you could have done to leave a message! Do you have any idea how many times we searched that mountain for some trace of you."

"Calm down now Arme."

"And because of your disappearance all kinds of bad things happened, like Elena." She had Urashin's full attention at the mention of Elena.

"What happened to Elena?" Arme explained the situation with Elena. "I see..." Urashin sighed. "Such a hotheaded girl, she has so much talent and potential but... if you must defeat her then do so."

"I'm not sure I can."

"There's is nothing wrong with having your friends help you and attacking her all at once, not in a battle like this."

"But..."

"Enough Arme, you and I should speak more later, alone, when there isn't anyone listening." Arme turned around to see that Lire had been sitting quietly listening to them the whole time. Lass and Justin, on the other side of the room, were also watching. "Just sit down for now, everyone else should be back soon." Sure enough, everyone was back within the next few minutes. Eiau and Aurora sat with Urashin and Justin while the others all sat across the room. Lire made a point to sit as far away from Lass as possible.

"Let's begin with introductions then." Urashin began. "For those of you who have yet to meet us, I am Urashin, a native of your world and this is Justin a student of mine from this world." Justin looked at everyone and nodded before he went back to his computer. "Now, everyone, I would like to begin by saying that there is very little doubt in my mind that the other members of our small group, save Grant and Faren, are also scattered somewhere around this world, we merely have to find them."

"Everyone's here?" Ronan asked. "Are you sure." Urashin nodded.

"Almost certainly. We must find them so they can train you children, you will need the new power if you want any chance to face Faren."

"So you already know about Faren, then." Aurora commented.

"Yes, Eiau has told me most things of relevance. Moving along, there is much in this world that will be difficult for us to understand, that is why I have brought Justin with me. We will need the use of what they call the internet if we wish any chance of finding them in this world. Thanks to this unbelievably powerful information network we already have a lead on the Heavenly knight, Aria." Ronan shot up.

"Aria? Meaning my older sister?"

"Yes, that's her. We believe that we know where she is, however it may take some time to contact her."

"Why?" Ronan asked, desperate to see his sister again.

"Allow me." Justin said as he looked up from his screen. "Your sister's name is Aria. We believe that she is currently a resident in the small state of Vatican City in Italy. I have used the internet to search for her name but no contact information for Aria Erudon is available. This leads us to two conclusions. Number one, she has registered as a resident under a false name. Number two, she is hiding out in Vatican City as an illegal alien. Either way it makes it difficult to contact her. If she knew about social networks then it would be easier because I could create a program to compare pictures but I doubt she knows any more about the internet than Mr. Urashin. Because I can only search names, the best and, essentially, only way to find her would be to send someone to Vatican city to search for her."

"Not that I'm doubting you but... how do you know where she is." Justin tapped a few keys and then turned the computer around.

"We found this picture from Vatican city. In this world there is a device called a camera that can take instant photos that can then be put on these computers. This picture is an exact replica of a scene from Vatican city approximately two weeks ago." Justin dragged the mouse and zoomed in on a woman in the small crowd of people. "Is this her?"

"Yeah." Elesis answered. "That's her all right. No doubt." Ronan's eyes were glued to the screen. Elesis and Ryan peeled him away.

"Let me go!" Ronan demanded.

"No." Urashin rejected the idea. "We'll come up with something later, for now you'll stay here. You know nothing about this world or about the country you'd be travelling to."

"But-"

"Quiet Ronan." Eiau commanded. Ronan shut his mouth and sat back down.

"On to the next important topic then." Urashin retook control of the conversation back. "Justin pull up the profile on Garret." Justin turned the computer back to him and hit a few keys. He turned the computer back to everyone.

"Isn't that...?"

"Yes, Faren the man who attacked you kids and also the man who once fought alongside us. It would seem that his original name was Garret and he is a native of this world. Exactly what happened to him to turn him into our enemy or give him that much power is beyond me. From what I have heard, he is the one who sent Eiau to this world. He is also the one who sent me here."

"He is?"

"Yes. He told me that we had to be ready. I didn't know what it meant at the time but now I think it meant that we must be ready to train you kids."

"He sent you here so that we'd have a better chance of beating him?" Lass asked skeptically.

"Heh, the plot thickens." Justin said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I guess that's not something any of you will be figuring out, not while you're around here, at least."

"He's right." Urashin backed Justin up. "It's not something we'll be figuring out any time soon. For now we must focus on training you kids. Arme, I plan on teaching you the techniques of spirit calling starting tomorrow. Your training shouldn't last long since the spirits can't be called in this world I can only teach you the procedure, you'll need to put it into practice later. After your training is finished, you can aid in the search for the others." Arme nodded.

"Yes, master."

"Kataleen, you've been rather quiet, I expected many questions from you regarding Faren."

"I'll wait until we've uncovered more information on him before I investigate."

"Fair enough. Justin I'll be counting on you to watch for contact from the others." Justin nodded.

"May I ask exactly who Justin is?" Ronan asked.

"Ah yes, I suppose that's fair. When I came to this world I was in a country called America, I met a few people who believed me and aided me, it didn't take me long until I had received a position as a professor of philosophy in a high end school known as Harvard. Justin is a grad student, essentially he is payed to do anything I need him to do. There are others who are also helping back at the school but Justin is a master with computers and programs. He is also a skilled hacker, cracker and programmer, although you probably won't understand those terms."

"Essentially I can collect information that your average person isn't able to collect. I can also create things that will help us look through contact information quickly and efficiently, I have some skills that come in handy in this world, though don't go spreading that I know how to crack, that's a skill best kept secret. That's about all you need to know about me, so just leave me to my work." Justin went back to typing on the computer. Urashin stood first.

"There is more to talk about, but for now this is enough. We'll have plenty of time to speak more after Justin has collected more information. Everyone should rest for tonight. Arme, come meet me in my room later so I can answer all of your questions." Arme nodded and left the room. Lire, sneering at Lass, followed her. Elesis left with Ryan to go and exercise some more. Ronan and Amy left last. Lass stuck around and hung off Justin's shoulder, examining the computer again. Urashin and Eiau chuckled at Justin's annoyed expression as they left with Aurora.

* * *

Ok that'll be all for this chapter, kind of an awkward place to stop but now I have to decide what's next. I have a few things lined up to allow for character development, romantic development and probably some of that corny humour that I tend to come up with. Anyway the next chapter focuses on Lass and one of his remaining emotions. I have a starting for both Love and Sorrow so if you want to see one or the other specifically then visit my profile and drop your choice into the poll I put up there. For those of you that read this without having an account you can either make an account or I guess you could leave it in a review. I'll wait till the weekends over then close the poll. Essentially I'm asking whether you guys wanna see Lass gets his sorrow or his love back first. Jealousy isn't happening until later, he needs love first. If you don't care one way or the other then just wait with bated breaths for the next chapter.

Heh, Well review and have a nice day.


	30. Lass' quest

No one seemed to care (Which suits me just fine, even if people had voted I probably wouldn't have ever asked again.) so I flipped a coin, put in a vote on my own poll and now here's a little mini-chapter that I wanted to put up. enjoy.

Haosbringer981: Those were just a couple of typos. I try to go through and fix everything before posting but it turns out to be a much more monumental task than some people might think, plus when I finished that chapter I was really tired and going over it would probably add more mistakes than it would fix. My friend agreed to go over old chapters and fix typos every 8 chapters or so, so I'll be calling him pretty soon to fix that stuff up. Then again typos are everywhere whether you like it or not, I guarantee you that every book on your bookshelf that has more than 100 pages or so has a typo in it somewhere, and I don't have a professional editor like they do either. Well I digress.

* * *

"Leave me alone, kid!" Justin shouted as he kicked Lass into the hallway and slammed the door shut. Lass picked himself up off the ground and stretched. Bored, he headed down the hall looking for something to do. Lire came down the hall walking towards Lass. She noticed Lass and almost pushed herself against the wall opposite him as she passed.

"Are you still mad at me?" Lass asked stupidly. Lire responded by turning around and sticking her tongue out at him, then she kept walking. He left the shrine to get some fresh air and noticed Sakura feeding the fish in a small pond. He walked up behind her. "Hello." He said politely. Sakura turned to him and smiled, she seemed to have gotten over what happened yesterday. "I'm glad someone around here can let things go." Sakura sighed.

"What happened?" She asked. Lass explained what had happened with Lire earlier. As soon as he had finished, Sakura beat him in the back of the head with the fish food can she was holding. "Idiot."

"What!" Lass yelled at her.

"You're an idiot that's what."

"How? What did I do."

"Why do you even care? I thought you were emotionless or something."

"No, I was emotionless but now I'm not."

"Then how do you not understand why Lire's upset."

"I'm still missing some emotions like love and sadness."

"If you don't have sadness then why would you care if she ignores you."

"I'm not sad... I think, I'm more annoyed than anything." Sakura sighed.

"Idiot." She went back to feeding the fish.

"Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?"

"Wow you're dense. It's because of the way you teased her."

"I was joking."

"If that's your sense of humour then your not gonna get many girls to be your friends."

"Why not?"

"Because stuff like that is important to girls, at least girls my age."

"Explain." Sakura shook her head.

"That would take forever, but essentially love is something that every young girl dreams of and teasing Lire about stealing her first kiss will make her hate you."

"It's really that important?" Lass looked at her skeptically and then started leaning closer to test something. Sakura grabbed his collar.

"You're kidding right? After what I just told you?" She pulled his collar to the side causing Lass to go head first into the pond. She walked away without saying another word. Lass crawled out of the pond, dripping wet. He stood up and chased after Sakura. Sakura didn't say anything to him she just gave him a towel and change of clothes and left him so she could get something for lunch. Lass dried off and changed clothes. His new clothes were very different from his previous set. He was now wearing a sleeveless green shirt and red basketball shorts, it was clear that Sakura didn't give much thought as to what clothes she gave him. Lass left the room, still drying his hair and ran into Amy.

"Hi." He greeted her.

"What happened to you?" She asked.

"I fell in the pond." Amy giggled.

"You klutz."

"I'm usually pretty coordinated. Hey, Amy, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Is a kiss really that big a deal." Amy did a little hop step and pecked Lass on the cheek.

"No, not really."

"I'm confused!" Lass yelled while uncharacteristically flailing his arms like a child.

"What?" Lass explained what had happened with Lire, omitting his conversation with Sakura. Amy slapped him lightly.

"Idiot." Lass grimaced. "You're an idiot."

"But you just said it wasn't a big deal."

"Sure not if someone kisses you on the cheek but what you did is different."

"OK then, someone needs to write down all the little rules for me."

"You'd be to weighed down by paper to move."

"Then can you at least explain to me why a kiss is such a big deal?"

"It's not after you've had your first kiss, the first kiss is the important one."

"Why?"

"Because your first kiss is something you save for first love and that is something that should be precious in your memory."

"But I don't understand love!"

"Oh, yeah I guess that is a problem. Well then we need to teach you about love."

"Why do I get a strange sense of doom?" Despite Lass' reluctance, Amy still dragged him into an empty room where she started telling him a number of fairy tales from their world, mostly revolving around princesses meeting princes. By the time she was finished Lass was ready to kill himself.

"So, love is something between a princess and a prince and if they meet then it's instant?"

"No, not at all."

"That's all I got from your stories!"

"Well then I guess that was a wasted effort. I have another idea!" Before Amy had finished her thought Lass was on his feet and running down the hall. He stopped when he felt that she wouldn't be able to find him anymore.

"What are you doing?" Lass turned around to see Ronan and Ryan standing behind him.

"Have you guys ever been in love?"

"No." Ronan answered quickly.

"Yeah..." Ryan answered longingly.

"Teach me about love." Ronan scratched his head.

"Why the hell do you want to learn about love?"

"Because some stuff happened and now Lire won't talk to me and apparently I'm not going to be able to figure out why until I understand love." Ryan laughed.

"Ok then, there's only one thing that anyone can teach you about love."

"Finally!" Lass cheered. "What is it?"

"There isn't anyone who can teach you about love. Bye." Ryan walked away.

"I can't back that up since I've never been in love, but he has, so I'll take his word for it. See you at dinner." Ronan followed Ryan leaving Lass alone and annoyed.

"You OK kid?" Lass looked up to see that Justin was standing in front of him holding a glass of water. "You look kinda dejected."

"Ever been in love?"

"I'm married to my computer work."

"You're useless."

"Guys usually are when it comes to love." Justin walked by Lass. "Try asking that lady, Kataleen or whatever, she might know something. I think she went back to her room a while ago." With that Justin turned the corner and continued attempting to navigate the maze of a shrine. Lass, out of other leads, decided to listen to Justin and, after searching for awhile, found Aurora's room. Lass reached forward and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in." Lass entered to room. Aurora was sitting on the futon reading a thin book. She smiled at Lass. "Welcome Lass, do you need something?"

"Um... yes. You've been in love haven't you?" Aurora closed her book.

"That seems like an odd question."

"Well, do you promise not to call me an idiot or hit me if I tell you what happened."

"Very well, please tell me." Lass told Aurora what had happened with Lire. As soon as he was done she picked her book back up and threw it, hitting him in the head.

"You're a Fool."

"You cheated." Lass whined.

"I wouldn't have had to do or say anything if you were even remotely sensitive."

"That's just the problem, I can't be sensitive to that since I don't understand love. That's why I came here, I want you to teach me about love."

"Not possible."

"Why not, you were in love with that Faren guy, right? Why can't you explain it to me?"

"I can describe what it was like for me to be in love, but that won't help you."

"Please do so." Aurora sighed.

"Fine fine. It was a really warm feeling in my chest. A sense of happiness and euphoria whenever I saw Faren happy. I was content just being near Faren and happy just being able to do things for him. That's about all I can say, I guess."

"That's all! All that tells me is that you've got a submissive personality, you didn't describe love at all."

"I told you, no one can describe love, it's different for everybody and you have to figure it out for yourself."

"Then how do I figure love out?"

"That's on you, you'll just have to wait for it and see what happens."

"When will I know when it's love?"

"You'll know, it'll be more amazing than you could ever imagine."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Well I'd like to get back to my reading so if you'll show yourself out." Lass handed Aurora her book and left the room. Lass aimlessly walked down the hall, staring at the ceiling and trying to sort himself out.

"Are you OK?" Lass looked over to see Eiau standing next to him.

"Is it possible to teach someone about love." Eiau shook his head.

"Impossible."

"Yeah, I thought you'd say as much."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Eiau asked somewhat concerned.

"No, I've been called an idiot enough today." Lass left.

Lass had had enough of people being unable to help him so he decided to just return to the boys room and lay down. He fell asleep pretty quickly.

"Wake up!" Lass was shaken awake by someone. He sat up and rubbed his eyes to see that Lire was the one who woke him up.

"What are you doing here."

"Amy told me to come talk to you."

"And you agreed? That seems unlikely." Lire shrugged.

"She wore me down. Now what do you want." Lass blinked a couple of times.

"I wanted something?"

"Amy said you had something to say to me."

"I guess... I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry for teasing you, I had no idea how big of a deal it was to you." Lire sighed.

"I wasn't really upset because of your teasing, it was more your lack of understanding that made me mad. I know that's not your fault so I'll apologize as well. Oh, but don't think that that means I wasn't at all angry about your teasing."

"I'll be honest here I have no idea why I'm apologizing but still... I'm sorry, I really don't understand love or how important it is to people so I can't really understand your feelings. I just hope that I will be able to understand one day." Lire grabbed Lass' hand.

"You will, eventually. Just let it come naturally."

"Yeah... I guess. Thanks."

"Lass, come here." Lire pulled Lass a little closer and quickly pecked him on the lips. She stuck her finger up right afterwards. "Understand something, that was NOT a kiss and it didn't count as a first kiss for either of us. No one hears about it and neither of us ever mention it again, in fact it never happened. Got it?" Lass nodded, somewhat frghtened. "Good then. Dinner should be ready pretty soon so make sure you find the way to the dining room sometime soon." Lass nodded again. Lire left the room. Lass fell backwards onto the futon.

"Strange." He muttered as he felt the unnaturally fast beating in his chest.

* * *

Wow this seemed so unrealistic, but I call poetic license so it doesn't have to be realistic, even slightly. Well review and as always thanks for reading.


	31. Life in the other world

OK next chapter... Well nothing to say here let's get on with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

Amy rubbed her eyes and sat up. She looked over to see that Lire's futon was empty. She got up and left the room, careful not to wake Elesis or Arme. Amy walked to the kitchen to find Lire and Sakura making something. Sakura was not wearing the Miko robes or pajamas that Amy was used to seeing her in. Instead she was wearing a white blouse with a dark blue tie and a blue, pleated skirt. The upper left side of the blouse had a cross shaped design on it.

"Morning Amy." Lire greeted her as she packed the food into a box and tied it with a cloth.

"Good morning. What's happening?"

"Lire's helping me make lunch."

"Isn't it to early for lunch."

"Well I'm going to school today so I have to make a bento."

"What?"

"A lunch box."

"Oh... that's really cute."

"It's just a school uniform."

"Can I wear one."

"I only have two and I can't let you get the other dirty."

"Come on."

"Just stop."

"Fine... so what's school?"

"It's where we go to learn."

"So you go to someone other than your parents for your weekly lessons?"

"We go to trained professionals for about seven hours, five days a week. and a lot of people go to cram school on Saturday for extra lessons, but I'm third in my grade without them."

"What! Six days a week?"

"How is it in your world?"

"Some people go to lessons once a week for a few hours. Other than that you just learn what you want to learn in whatever way you can."

"Seriously? Wow we're miles apart."

"I wouldn't mind going to school If I got to wear a uniform like that."

"Stop it Amy." Lire knocked Amy on the back of her head. "Here, Sakura." Lire handed Sakura the bento.

"Thanks. I've got to go or I'll be late."

"Can I come with you?"

"You just want to try and get your hands on a uniform. I'll talk to the sisters and say you're friends who are thinking of transferring, you may be able to come and take a look around for a day, but you won't get a uniform from that."

"Aww..." Amy moaned as she tugged on the back of Sakura's blouse.

"Stop that." She brushed Amy's hand off. "I go to a mission school but the sister's are pretty relaxed about everything so I should be able to show you around some time, until then just stay in the shrine and be good."

"Fine..." Amy answered, bored.

"See you later." Sakura left the kitchen.

"Now what?"

"Breakfast?"

"Did you ever learn how to use the kitchen."

"Sakura showed me how to make toast." Lire said as she pulled out a loaf of bread and pushed several slices into a toaster oven.

"What's toast?"

"Cooked bread."

"Oh... well that's not weird at all."

"Just give it a chance."

"Fine..." Amy and Lire ate their breakfast and went their separate ways. "Now what?" Amy muttered to herself. As she walked by the numerous guest rooms she noticed Justin typing away through an open door. "Hi, what're you doing?" Justin stopped typing and looked at her, somewhat annoyed.

"Do you need something?"

"I'm bored."

"So you're going to torture me with questions, right?"

"So what is this thing that you're always sitting in front of?"

"It's called a laptop computer."

"What's a computer?"

"It accesses information and processes it into a tangible form, by my orders of course." Justin tapped the little internet stick sticking out of the side. "And thanks to this I have access to something called the internet which allows me access to huge amounts of information at the push of a button, or the strike of a key, if you want to put it that way."

"So you're using this to find everyone?"

"We're trying, but life isn't so easy." Justin began typing as he spoke to Amy. "How did you find people back in your world?"

"We hired trackers."

"Sounds like a pain."

"Yeah. Do you have anything I can do?" Justin stood up and walked to a cardboard box that had been forgotten in the corner of the room. He pulled a mound of fashion magazines from the box and dropped them in front of Amy.

"Here I found these yesterday, I think their Sakura's, go wild." Amy picked up one of the magazines and starting leafing through it, occasionally stopping on one page or another to take a closer look.

"Swimsuit's are cute in this world." She commented as she looked at a page with a group of young girls modelling swimsuits. "I wanna try wearing that one, oh and that one's perfect for Armie."

"In your head or go somewhere else."

"Sorry." Amy turned to the next page and almost dropped the magazine. "Hey can you find people on that thing."

"What's the name?"

"Um... Arianna Salva." Justin typed the name into the search engine and opened a few pages about the lady.

"Arianna Salva... here we go. She's a fashion model from Rome, Italy. Age 35. Why did I look her up now?"

"That's my mom!"

"That so?" Justin cracked his knuckles. "OK then, let's see what I can do here." Justin started opening and scrolling through pages left and right. "Nah, we're not gonna be able to contact her easily."

"Why not?"

"There's a lot of freaks out there so famous people like actors and models aren't easy to get a hold of... but just leave it to me, I can write a program and crack the info no problem. But it may take awhile, first I gotta locate a link to a network that will have the info and next I have to write the program that will crack it's way in... bottom line it may take a day or possibly longer. Either way, go tell Mr. Urashin that you found your mom, I'd like his permission before I begin my cracking." Amy nodded and rushed out of the room. She stopped when she ran into Eiau.

"Sir Eiau, I found my mom!"

"Amanda?" Amy nodded.

"I need to find Sir Urashin quickly."

"I believe he's in the middle of a lesson with Arme right now, if you need information I may be able to help." Amy shook her head.

"No no, Justin wants Urashin's permission before he gets in touch with my mom."

"Ah, I see. He shouldn't have a problem with you interrupting the lesson in that case, they're studying in the family room right now."

"Thank you." Amy rushes off as quickly as she came. Eiau just shook his head and laughed to himself.

"She's as hyper as her mother was."

"Sir Urashin!" Amy came rushing into the room completely interrupting the lesson.

"We're in the middle of a lesson."

"We found my mom!"

"Amanda? Where?"

"Ita-, uh, something, I don't know but Justin wants your permission before he contacts her." Urashin put two fingers on his forehead and shook his head.

"I see, is he still in our room?" Amy nodded. "Tell him I'll be right along." Amy nodded again and rushed out of the room. "She's as energetic as her mother was."

"Her mother was that bad?" Arme asked.

"Yes indeed, she was quite a handful and she was already in her mid-twenties at the time."

"So Amy's gonna be like that for a while longer, huh?"

"I suppose. Well Amanda always did slip between being hyper and being serious. At any rate, I'll be back shortly, read over the instructions I gave you and practice the movements."

"Yes Master." Urashin stood and left the room while Arme got back into reading her instructions.

Urashin entered the room. "There you are." Amy exclaimed.

"Yes, now show me the woman you believe to be Amanda." Justin brought up the picture and turned it towards Urashin. "This doesn't look a thing like Amanda."

"Hey, blame her not me." Justin pointed his thumb towards Amy.

"Amy, why do you think this is Amanda." Amy stepped forward to look at the picture on screen.

"Um, you can't see it in this picture but... Oh yeah." Amy grabbed the magazine she was flipping through earlier and opened to the page she was on earlier. the outfit in the magazine included a V-neck shirt, showing much more of the models neck than the picture they were using on the computer. "Here see." Amy pointed at an area just above the models right breast. "That's my mom's birthmark."

"I wasn't aware Amanda had a birthmark."

"I'd be surprised if you did, but that's definitely her." Urashin sighed.

"Justin, contact her. Please ensure that they cannot trace phone calls or e-mails back to us, just in case. Though if it really is Amanda it may be convenient for us. If it is her then she is in Italy and we may be able to ask her to search for Aria."

"Leave it to me." Justin did a quick, informal salute and started typing again.

"You'll just have to calm down and be patient until we get a hold of her. It could take some time." Urashin told Amy.

"Yeah, OK." Amy left the room, having lost her previous enthusiasm.

"Work as quickly as you can then."

"Have I ever let you down?" Urashin left the room and returned to Arme.

* * *

"Good work." Eiau praised Elesis as she finished the exercises for the day. "Now get your spear and meet me outside." Eiau left the room.

"Great..." Elesis moaned as she pushed herself off the ground.

"C'mon, pick yourself up." Ronan chided Elesis from the door.

"You can't be that tired, me and Ronan did everything you did." Ryan joined in.

"My father didn't put weights on your back!" She yelled at them. Ryan and Ronan fled from the room as Elesis pulled herself to her feet. She staggered to the weapons room and collected her spear. She went outside and, after beating Ryan and Ronan with the shaft of her spear, stood opposite her father. Ryan, Ronan and also Aurora sat near the shrine, watching.

"No waiting this time." Eiau said as he charged her. Elesis raised her spear to block. Just before the weapons touched Eiau stopped his swing and spun around, pounding Elesis' side with his fist. Elesis coughed and dropped her spear. Eiau turned his sword and struck Elesis with the flat of the blade, causing her to drop her blade and fall backwards. She coughed violently as Eiau pulled her back to her feet. "Pick up your weapon!" He ordered. Elesis knelt down and picked up her spear, holding it in front of her again. "Good." Eiau swung his sword back over his shoulder and charged Elesis again. Elesis could tell that he wasn't using his full speed in this sparring and she avoided his attack. He immediately spun and attempted to kick Elesis. Elesis blocked his foot with her spear. Eiau continued his spin and struck Elesis in the side with the flat of his blade. Elesis braced herself and managed to stay upright but was completely winded in the process. Her legs shook. Eiau shook his head. "Your stamina needs serious work. Ryan!" Ryan ran up to Eiau who whispered something into his ear. Ryan stood opposite Elesis. "Put down your spear and see how many of his attacks you can take.

Elesis reluctantly placed her spear on the ground and braced herself. "Sorry if I hurt you." Ryan apologized ahead of time as he charged Elesis and punched her in the stomach. Elesis attempted to move with his fist to reduce the damage as much as she could. She tried her best, but most of her defensive techniques revolved around using_ her weapon as a shield so this was new to her and she went down after the second punch. Eiau shook his head and sighed._

_"Thank you for your help Ryan, I may ask again but first we need to build Elesis' endurance. As soon as you have enough strength, start running laps around the shrine._ Don't go to long and make sure you don't work yourself to hard because that will cause more problems than it will solve."

"Why do I have to do this? Aren't you supposed to be teaching me how to fight using a greatsword?" Eiau picked up his sword.

"Here hold this." Elesis took the sword in both hands, it dropped to the ground immediately after Eiau released it. "Now, mime a fight for me. It doesn't matter if you use a proper style just pretend your fighting." Elesis managed to, very slowly, swing the sword twice before she was completely winded. "First you need the strength and endurance to hold the weapon, if you don't have that then what could I possibly teach you?"

"I understand." Elesis said defeated.

"Ronan, Ryan, can one of you stay and make sure she doesn't push herself?"

"Leave it to me." Aurora stood up.

"I see, well then I'll be counting on you."

"Not a problem, I haven't done any exercise in a while anyway." Aurora rolled up her sleeves and leggings and stretched.

"Don't go easy on her." Eiau returned to the shrine with Ryan and Ronan.

"OK then, get up and let's start."

* * *

Lass stared at the ceiling, bored. _"Now what?" _He thought to himself. _"I could go see Lire or Amy, but I don't feel like death by fairy tales and Lire will probably think I'm going to tease her again. Maybe Ronan or Ryan wants to race or something. I could always go and work with Elesis..." _Lass shot up off the futon and yelled, "I'm bored! Screw this I'm gonna go eat." Lass left the room and headed towards the kitchen. When he got there Lire was making Sandwiches. "Since when do you make lunch."

"Sakura's at her lessons today."

"What?" Lire handed Lass the sandwich she just finished and started on another one. "Oh, thanks."

"Your welcome. Anyway, In this world, anyone under the age of eighteen, sometimes older, go to lessons for six or seven hours, five days a week."

"That's ridiculous, no one needs to learn that much."

"They do in this world, apparently."

"It just seems stupid to me."

"I don't disagree, but remember they don't need large legions of warriors to keep monsters at bay in this world so that eliminates a lot of jobs."

"True."

"So where have you been all morning?"

"In the room."

"Why?"

"I was bored and couldn't figure out what I should do."

"Then you should go work out, we'll be returning and fighting in due time."

"I guess... what about you?"

"I'm gonna try to learn as much about this world as I can before we have to go back. Is there anything you want to do while we're here?"

"Get to know you." Lass muttered at an almost inaudible level.

"What?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"If you say so. See you later." Lire left the kitchen. Lass yawned.

"Now what?" He asked himself as he bit into his sandwich.

* * *

The bell rang signalling the end of sixth period. Sakura put her books in her bag as she got ready to leave.

"Hey Fujibayashi-san!" A girl with long, raven black hair called her as she approached with a girl who had short silver hair. "What are you doing after school today?"

"Oh, hi Tamuro-chan, Fukayama-chan. Sorry, I have guests staying at my house so I can't go anywhere for awhile."

"Oh, to bad." The silver haired girl named Fukayama said. "So what kind of guests? Don't tell me your trying to horde a bunch of cute boys." Sakura laughed.

"Do you ever think of anything else?"

"No, she doesn't." Tamuro answered.

"Hey, shut up!" Sakura laughed at her two friends.

"Well, don't worry there just some friends of my father, no one interesting."

"Just a bunch of old priests probably. Yeah you can keep them to yourself."

"Well I can at least walk to the gate with you guy." Having finished backing her bag, Sakura stood up and started leaving but stopped abruptly. She immediately turned to a pair of boys talking at a desk. "Imagawa-kun, what were you just saying?"

"Huh, Fujibayashi-san? Uh, I was telling Honda-san about something my penpal wrote to me. He said, that according to national news, or something, there's some rarely spotted man who's been running around the Amazon Rainforest hunting with a scythe, or something like that. Some kinda weird hermit maybe, not many people have seen him, the first sighting was, three or four months ago I think. Why did you want to know?"

"Oh, no reason really, it just sounded interesting."

"Yeah, I'm with you there. I'd look it up myself if I could speak English." Imagawa and Honda stood up with their bags. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye." Imagawa and Honda left the classroom. Tamuro and Fukayama walked up to Sakura.

"Are you really interested in stuff like that?"

"Eh, not really but my father loves stories like that and he can speak English, I'm sure he'll get a kick out of looking this stuff up."

"If you say so, come on let's go." Sakura nodded and followed her friends out of the classroom.

* * *

"Justin?" Ronan called as he entered the room with Sakura. "Sakura wants to ask something."

"What's up?" Justin asked. "Feel free to ask me anything, the crack programs running so I gotta wait for it to finish. Really flipping easy to, honestly I can't believe anyone uses a digit-only password in this day and age. Although it is like sixty-eight digits so it could take awhile. All I had to do was write a program to check all the combinations until it hits the right one. I was expecting a much bigger challenge." Ronan translated Justin's word.

"Tell him that I might have a lead on another one of the people from your world."

"You kidding? God damn, we've been looking for ages and as soon as you guys show up they all fall into our laps." Justin grunted. "Tell her I can't check out any leads right now unless she gets me an English computer."

"She says that she can open the pages, or whatever, on her computer but she can't read English very well so she needs your help."

"Couldn't she just get one of you to help her?"

"Well yeah but translating everything so she can pick out the important things would be to slow compared to just having you read it." Justin shrugged.

"Fair enough, the program's gonna be running for awhile now, so I may as well. I'm sure you've got training or something to do." Ronan turned to Sakura.

"Ok, guide him to where you want. Come find one of us if you ever have anything important to say to each other." Ronan left the room. Justin followed Sakura to her room where her laptop was open on her desk. She opened the page she needed, which was in English, and Justin started reading. The pages explained about the strange hermit that had recently appeared in the Amazon rainforest. There were a few unfocused photos but other than that no visual confirmation could be made. Justin switched the page and typed something into the translator they had opened.

"I'm believing the hair colour is correct and there was someone who use scythe if I'm remember Mr. Urashin's explain correct, but without confirm, without doubt, that it's someone we're look for I don't think we would want to send anyone there." It took Sakura a minute to make out exactly what Justin was trying to say, due to the absolute horror of translation, but she figured it out and typed her own message.

"OK, I watch and you hear if picture come." Justin read the phrase over twice and nodded to Sakura. With that he left the room to return and check on his own computer.

* * *

"Hey Amy." Justin called to her quietly as she was heading into the girl's room. "The programs done, we got lucky, it finished quickly. It's late here but it's afternoon there would you like to try giving her a call?"

"I can talk to her?" Justin nodded.

"Let's just hope it's her. Well we'll be making the call using a version of Skype that I've hacked so even if she isn't they won't be able to find us."

"I don't really get it, but please I want to talk to her."

"OK, I'll get it ready, won't take long. You mind grabbing Eiau and that Kataleen lady? Meet me in my and Urashin's room when you got them." Amy nodded and ran off quickly. She arrived in the room with the two very shortly. "OK, I'm making the call." Justin clicked the button. A woman picked up.

"Hello? Mr. Macario?" the woman asked on the other side.

Eiau smiled to himself. "I certainly recognize that voice."

"Hello? Who is this!"

"Mom!"

"Amy!"

"Yes it's me."

"Wha, Whe, Why? Why are you in this world?"

"It's a long story but we've been looking for you."

"We? Who's we?"

"I'm here, along with Eiau and Urashin."

"Kataleen? Is that you?"

"Yes Amanda, it's me. It's good to hear your voice again, hopefully I'll see you soon."

"What's going on?" They took their time and explained to Amanda what was going on. "I see... so Amy's... then that's why Kirion..."

"What?"

"Pay me no mind I'm just thinking aloud. I'll be sure to fly to Tokyo right away."

"Wait." Justin stopped her. We need you to do something first."

"Who are you?"

"The name's Justin and I'm the only reason that we're talking right now so I suggest you listen to me."

"What do you want."

"Aria, I believe was her name. We think she's hiding out somewhere in Vatican City which is basically right next to Rome. You mind going over and taking a look for us before you come up here."

"Aria's here to? Very well, I'll take a look. My manager, Mr. Macario, knows about the other world and will probably help me. So if you have a picture of Aria then send it to..." Amanda and Justin spent a few minutes working out the finer details of the plan

"Alright then, I'll come as soon as I find her."

"Please hurry, I want to see you Mom."

"I want to see you to Amy, I'm looking forward to seeing what a beautiful young lady you've grown up to be. Goodbye." Amanda hung up the phone and Justin ended the call.

"With any luck we'll get two more of you guys sometime soon." Justin stated.

"I see she hasn't changed much." Eiau said laughing to himself.

"She certainly hasn't, she still slips between frivolous and serious at the drop of a hat." Eiau stretched and yawned.

"Well, I'm tired. Goodnight everyone." Eiau left the room.

"I think I'll be going as well." Aurora stood and left the room.

"Great I'm tired so get out." Justin ordered Amy.

"Try to get some sleep tonight Amy." Amy nodded at Urashin's words and left the room.

"Mom... I can't wait." She said happily as she skipped to the girl's room.

* * *

OK, well I'll find out tomorrow whether I got a part in the play (Romeo & Juliet) so if I fall into one of my several month slumps then that's probably the reason. Wish me luck.

As always review and have a nice day.


	32. Festival preparations

OK, another chapter... and no part in the play, oh well, I guess it doesn't matter.

Enjoy

* * *

Lass sat by the side of the shrine and watched as Aurora and Elesis jogged.

"Why don't you join us?" Aurora called to him. Lass shook his head.

"I'd just embarrass you!" He called, mockingly.

"Wanna bet on that?" Elesis called to him. She had been running with Aurora for three days now and was getting confident in her stamina. She thought that if Lass tried to sprint he'd wear himself out and she could win in a race.

"What's the bet?"

"I don't know, what is there to bet?"

"Whoever loses does whatever the other says."

"Fine, deal."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Elesis and Lass lined up and took a starting position.

"Fine." Aurora gave up trying to stop them. "The first one to circle the shrine five times is the winner."

"To easy." Lass claimed. "If Elesis can circle the shrine five times by the time I can do twenty then she wins."

"Well..."

"Yeah, fine, I have no reason to deny him his stupid handicap."

"Fine then... Go!" Aurora yelled. Elesis took off immediately, Lass made a delayed start. Elesis wasn't slow but when compared to Lass, who was bounding off of the air, she may as well have been standing still. Lass was finished his twenty laps by the time Elesis was done two. Lass sat on the ground as Elesis finished her second lap, it seemed that he hadn't so much as broken a sweat.

"I warned you."

"Keep going Elesis, finish the last three laps, it'll be good endurance training." Elesis nodded and continued running.

Lass stretched and yawned. "I'm gonna take a nap on the roof, call me when she's done so I can collect my winnings."

"What are you going to take from her?"

"That's my secret." Lass jumped up onto the roof and lied down.

"You're fast, kid." A unfamiliar man's voice complimented Lass. Lass' eyes shot open as he spun around to see who was speaking. There was no one there.

"Who's there?" He asked quietly so as not to alert Elesis and Aurora.

"I wonder." The voice mocked him.

"Do you need something?"

"I have what I need."

"So why are we talking right now?"

"I wonder..." A man with silver hair and blue eyes appeared in front of Lass in such a way that he was completely hidden from those on the grounds. On his arms were curved, metal, for lack of a better word, sheets that ran from his wrist to his elbow as if they were braces.

"Who are you?"

"You'll know when the time comes." He told Lass. "I have what I need, I'll be taking my leave. Don't tell anyone I was here."

"If you didn't want anyone to know you were here then why'd you speak to me."

"Good question but... I'm sure I had my reasons." With those cryptic words, the man disappeared into thin air without a sound. Lass jumped down from the roof next to Aurora.

"How's she doing?"

"She's just started the fourth lap. Why'd you come down early?" Lass debated whether or not he should tell Aurora about the strange man. He couldn't figure out why, but he had the urge to grant the man's request.

"It was cold up there." Aurora laughed.

"Of course it is, what were you expecting?"

"Not what I found, that's for sure." Elesis passed by them.

"One more."

"She has gotten pretty fast, well faster than one would expect for only three days, at least."

"True, her endurance, strength and speed training have been showing results far faster than one would expect. Even so she's no match for you when it comes to speed."

"I'm an assassin, we pride ourselves in moving so fast that we can use the air as a step stool. I warned her that she stood no chance."

"Yes, you did."

"Well, if we're all going to be going through training then we had all better be ready to grow as fast as she is."

"Oh, I don't think so. Her training will be the hardest by far, at least I think so. Her new weapon is so heavy that she needs a lot of physical conditioning just to begin her training, I don't think the rest of you will have quite so much trouble. Arme's training is already finished, after all."

"I'm just worried because we don't have an unlimited amount of time. We've been here for about five days now, that alone is plenty of time for someone like him to do a lot of damage."

"I agree. But even if we do train as fast as we can, we still need to find a way back, it could take a while longer." Elesis came running up, finishing her last lap.

"How did I do."

"Faster than I was expecting, I guess." Lass gave his half-assed praise.

"You did well. I thought you'd be training for a few more days before this, but I'll ask Eiau to give you the test and see if you can use the sword again tomorrow. But for today, we're going to continue our strength training, let's go."

"Alright." Elesis followed Aurora, but stopped suddenly. "I almost forgot, what do you want?"

"I'll get back to you when I figure it out."

"Fine then, nothing weird." Elesis shrugged and followed Aurora into the shrine. Lass scratched the back of his head and looked back up at the roof.

"Who was that man and why the hell did he feel so familiar?"

* * *

"Is that so? I see." Justin said into his laptop. "Tell him that I really am sorry for cracking the security code, if it makes him feel any better the program found it and opened it so I never saw what the code was. Although I do suggest upgrading your protection, I'm amazed that I'm the first to break in." An unfamiliar voice, that sounded like it belonged to a young woman, repeated what Justin had just said. Justin heard a middle-aged man's voice on the other side of the screen spouting something in italian which, of course, sounded like complete gibberish to him.

"He says not to worry about it and he thanks you for showing them they needed to upgrade before someone malicious got in."

"Not a problem."

"He would like to speak about the trip now."

"Ah, I would like to sincerely thank him for arranging that for us. It makes things much easier. And I also want to thank him for managing to get the seats during the eleventh hour."

"He says your welcome and wants to make sure that there will be someone waiting for us at the airport."

"Of course, tomorrow's Friday so Sakura is in school but I can drive and will be there to make sure you two get here."

"That's good then, Amanda can't wait to see Amy again."

"I was amazed at how quickly she found you."

"Well, she didn't. She was getting ready to go to Vatican City when I showed up at her door."

"Wait, seriously? How did you know to go to her."

"Sorry but do you mind if we hold off on talking about that until tomorrow in person?"

"Not at all, I'm not really a part of you guys so I'm just trying to satiate my own curiosity, I can wait."

"Thank you. Good bye."

"Good bye." Justin ended the call. He stood and left the room, looking for someone. He found him in the living room, examining the TV again. "You turn it on with this." Justin hit the button on the remote causing the TV to turn on and making Ronan jump. "You'll never get used to that, will you?"

"Not likely."

"Well, whatever. I've got news that I think you'll enjoy."

"Geez, what is it?"

"We found that Aria lady and she'll be here tomorrow evening." Ronan's eyes grew wide.

"Seriously." Justin nodded.

"Yeah, if you get permission from Mr. Urashin and Eiau then I'll let you come along to pick them up, but whatever you do don't tell Amy, it's a surprise for her since her mother's coming to."

"Really? I'm sure she'll be happy."

"Probably, now pass along the message that Aria's coming with Amanda to Urashin and Eiau and I guess Kataleen as well. Oh and don't forget to ask permission if you want to come with me." Justin glanced at the TV. "I'd like to watch some TV but I can't understand a word they're saying. Forget it, I'm gonna go stream it on my laptop, come find me in my room when you've figured out whether you're allowed to go or not." Justin left the room. Ronan followed and went to look for Urashin and Eiau.

* * *

Sakura yawned as the day ended. She was already smarter than half the teachers in the school and the classes were mind numbingly boring to her. She started putting her books into her bag when Tamuro and Fukayama walked up to her desk.

"Can you still not come out with us?" Tamuro asked.

"Sorry Tamuro-chan, but I can't. It's pretty busy around the shrine not to mention that people will be coming to start setting up for the spring festival soon." Sakura sighed. "Keeping all our guests at bay while that's happening is going to be a full time job, luckily the principal gave me time off to supervise everything, having good grades is certainly an advantage."

"Yeah, your usually busy around this time of year anyway, with or without the guests. Oh that reminds me, my mom wanted to know if you were coming in for a new yukata this year?"

"Well, I do every year, I live at the shrine after all I should look my best for the festival but this yea-" Sakura stopped abruptly. "Hey is it OK if I bring some other friends who need yukatas to? They don't need anything custom made like I do."

"Uh, yeah, I'm sure that'll be fine, you know my mom loves helping people find the yukatas and kimonos that suit them."

"OK thanks, I'm planning on showing them around the school tomorrow so we can go to your house after."

"You're bringing them to school?"

"They wanted to see what our schools are like in Japan. I got permission to miss most of my classes tomorrow so I can show them around, good grades really are wonderful."

"Wait, are these your father's guests?"

"Yes, of course."

"You said they were a bunch of old priests."

"No, I said there wasn't anyone interesting. You made up the old priests part yourselves."

"You are hogging a bunch of cute boys, aren't you?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Don't worry about her, I'll tell my mom that you're bringing some new friends, she'll probably be ecstatic."

"OK thanks, Tamuro-chan. I've got to get home now, see you tomorrow."

* * *

"Elesis." Lass called her.

"Hey, did you decide what you want?"

"Yeah, help me spend some time with Lire." Elesis blinked a couple of times.

"What?"

"I want to spend some more time with Lire."

"Why?"

"Because I want to figure something out."

"What's that?"

"OK, you can't tell anyone I told you this because it never actually happened, alright?"

"You make no sense, but go on." Lass explained his teasing, Lire's avoiding of him, his little "Quest" and how it ended. "So now you're in love with Lire?"

"I don't know. I don't know how love feels, Aurora said I would but I don't so I want to spend time with Lire and get to know her so I can figure this out."

"Wow, you've got some trouble trying to figure yourself out."

"Just love really, everything else I sorta remembered when they were awakened. Guess I was never in love before Kaze'aze got me."

"Wait, have you already got all of your emotions?" Lass shook his head.

"Sadness and jealousy are missing for sure. Love's still in the air."

"OK, I'll figure something out and get back to you, though it may take a while."

"That's fine. Just help me when you can."

"OK, well It's back to training for me. Hopefully I can move with the sword tomorrow."

"Good luck."

* * *

"Elesis wake up!" Sakura shook Elesis to wake her up.

"Mgghgm, what do you want."

"Get up, you're coming to school with me today."

"Mmmm... I have training."

"Not today you don't, I got you the day off."

"You don't take time off from training, you gotta keep it up."

"Then do it this evening, you're coming with me today."

"Why?"

"Just come on. You did bathe last night didn't you?"

"Yes... I have been ever since I started training seriously."

"Good, get dressed, and not in training clothes."

"Ugh, Yes ma'am." Elesis got dressed and met the girls in the front entrance. She put on the shoes that Sakura had prepared and the five girls left. "Are the guys not coming with us?" Elesis asked.

"Ryan said he didn't want to, Ronan said he had something important to do today and I couldn't find Lass anywhere."

"You didn't force Ryan to go but you dragged me along?"

"Well we're going some place else after school that I want you for."

"Where's that?"

"It's my friends house."

"And why do you need us?"

"You'll see when we get there."

The five girls turned the corner and found themselves in a large group of people. Almost all of the girls wore the same outfit as Sakura.

"Why are there so many people?"

"They're all going to school, of course. Come on." Sakura made sure to stay to the side to make sure that the girls didn't get themselves lost in the crowd. It was another fifteen minutes before they arrived at the large building. "Come on, first we're supposed to go see the principal, I'm excused from first period so it'll be fine." On the way in Sakura stopped at a row of small metal doors.

"What are these?" Lire asked as Sakura removed her shoes.

"Shoe lockers, we're not supposed to wear our normal shoes in the school, you guys will be fine though, since you're guests." Sakura switched her shoes with the pair in the locker and closed it. "Ok let's go." Sakura led the girls to the principal's office. "Before we go in I need to show you something." Sakura showed the girls how they should properly greet the principal. "The Sister's here are pretty relaxed about most things but that's not one of them." Sakura turned and knocked on the door "Sister? It's Sakura." Sakura announced herself softly.

"Come in, Sakura." Sakura entered the room with the four girls. The woman inside was a young nun. "Are these the friends you told me about?"

"Yes, Sister. This is Elesis." Sakura presented Elesis who bowed with her hands folded in front of her chest, as if she was praying. "This is Lire." Lire followed Elesis' lead. "This is Arme." Arme stepped forward and did the greeting as well. "And lastly, Amy." Amy stepped forward and bowed as well.

"Hello to all of you. I am Sister Honoka, current principal of this school." Sister Honoka bowed in the same way as they did. "I see Sakura showed you our tradition here, thank you for complying." The girls all followed Sakura's lead as she bowed again. "Now then, I heard you were all from out of the country, although I could have guessed by your names. I'm quite interested, where did you all come from?" Sakura jumped in before the girls could say anything.

"Elesis is from somewhere in Europe, England I think it was, Lire came from Greece, Arme's here from Australia and Amy is from America."

"I see. You have quite a diverse group of friends, Sakura."

"Their parents are all acquaintances of my father, so he suggested that their families come and see our spring festival."

"Ah, I see, an excellent idea. That reminds me, you'll be taking time off next week to supervise the preparations with your father, correct."

"Yes, Sister. Thank you again for allowing it."

"Of course, Sakura. So tell me, do your friends speak Japanese well?"

"You'll find they're quite fluent, although they have a tendency to mess up the honorifics or call people by their first names without permission."

"A pleasure to meet you, er, Sister." Lire greeted.

"You as well, Lire. Of course it's a pleasure to meet all of you. I heard you're interested in the schooling system in Japan."

"Somewhat." Arme answered.

"I see, well you're in good hands with Sakura. I only ask that you treat this place with respect, the chapel in particular."

"Of course, we, or at least I'd, never dream of doing something disrespectful in a chapel." Lire answered. Sister Honoka bowed to the girls who bowed back. They left the room.

"Geez..." Elesis moaned. "I hate talking to people like her, they make you feel like you'll be finished if you make one wrong move."

"She certainly had that air to her." Arme agreed.

"Sakura, what did you mean by festival?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? The summer festival is next weekend. People will be setting up booths and such on the path towards the shrine all next week, so I'm taking time off to supervise. Try to keep your weapons out of sight while they're there."

"Do we get to come to the festival?"

"Of course you'll be there. I'm taking you to the house of a friend of mine after we're done here today. Her mother loves helping people find yukatas."

"And what's a yukata?"

"Traditional clothing, technically they're meant to be bath clothes but most girls wear them for the summer and spring festivals."

"I see, it may be interesting to try and wear something traditional while we're in this world." Lire said, pleased with the idea.

"Well that was my hope. Come on, I'll show you what it's like to be your age in my world." Sakura took the girls through the school, taking a noticably inflated amount of time to show them the simplest things, in an effort to avoid her mind numbing classes. Time passed quickly and before they knew it the bell rang ending fourth period. "Time for lunch, come on let's go to my class." The girls followed Sakura to her classroom. They waited in the hall as she went in for a few moments. She came back out with two other girls. "Follow them, I'll catch up in a little while." Sakura ran off somewhere.

"I'm Tamuro Midori." One of the girls introduced herself.

"Fukayama Maika." The other introduced herself as well. "It's kind of crowded around here, follow us." Fukayama and Tamuro turned and walked down the hall. Not wanting to be left alone in the school, the girls followed behind them, ignoring the stares they got from all the students they passed. Fukayama and Tamuro led the girls to the roof.

"Why are we up here?" Elesis asked. Fukayama and Tamuro sat down.

"We're going to eat lunch." They both opened the lunch boxes they had been carrying. "Sakura will be back soon with yours. So what are your names anyway?"

"I'm Elesis, technically my last name's Erudon. In a way I'm Sakura's foster sister."

"I'm Lire Searien."

"Arme Glenstid."

"Amy Silven."

"So you're the guests staying at Sakura's house?" Fukayama asked.

"Yeah." Lire asked uncertainly.

"Are you the only ones?"

"No. There's Ronan, Ryan, Lass, Justin." Amy counted the boys off on her fingers.

"I knew it!" Fukayama shouted triumphantly. Tamuro hit her in the back of the head.

"Knock it off."

"What?"

"Just ignore her, don't worry about it. So where are you guys visiting from."

"Ummmm..." Lire trailed off as she tried her best to remember what Sakura had told Sister Honoka."

"Lire's from Greece." Arme finally said. "Elesis is from England, Amy is from America and I'm from Australia."

"Wow Sakura's so international. How do you all know her?"

"Um, our parents are friends, and they invited us to come see the spring festival."

"Oh, I get it. That's cool."

"Geez, sorry it took so long, there were more people than normal." Sakura walked onto the roof and passed out sandwiches and drinks to the girls. "Here's lunch."

"Thanks." Amy said, happily, as she bit into the sandwich.

"So, you all introduced yourselves, then?"

"Yeah, and I found out that you have boys staying at your house to." Tamuro hit Fukayama again.

"I said shut up."

"Hey Tamuro."

"What's wrong Sakura?"

"Skip fifth and sixth period."

"What?"

"Come on just take us to your house I've run out of things to show them and I don't want to go to class."

"Sakura, my grades aren't as good as yours, I can't afford to cut class."

"Come on, what classes do we have left today anyway?"

"Math and English. You know I'm awful at foreign languages and Math is just difficult."

"I'll help you later, so please. You know the Sister's won't care if you skip a couple of lessons and your mom will be so overjoyed that there are people to get yukata's for that it won't even register."

"Ugh... fine, but Maika's coming to."

"What? My grades are worse than yours, I can't afford to skip class."

"You're coming, get over it." Lire and Amy laughed at the three.

"What's so funny?" Fukayama asked.

"You three, you're just perfect together."

"Well, we've been together since elementary school, Sakura made sure we stayed together to."

"What does that mean."

"I purposely got lower scores on entrance exams for better schools so I could go to school with them."

"Honestly it was just about the stupidest thing she could've done."

"Whatever, I'm gonna spend my life watching the shrine anyways. I've already told you about the stupidly large inheritance my birth father had saved away for me."

"Honestly, how did he ever save that much?" Sakura shrugged.

"I don't know and I don't care to know. It just means that I can mind the shrine all my life, just like I want to."

"You're so lucky." Tamuro sighed and looked at her watch. "If we're going to leave then let's go now." Tamuro and Fukayama tied up their lunch boxes while Sakura collected the garbage.

"Let's go then." Everyone left the school together. Tamuro's house was about a twenty minute walk from the school.

"Mom, I'm here with those people who want Yukatas!" Tamuro called as they entered the house.

"Back here, dear!" Tamuro lead the girls into the back room which had rolls of cloth scattered everywhere.

"What happened here?" Lire asked.

"Oh don't worry, my mom's disorganized but she's good at what she does." An older woman stepped out from a side room.

"Welcome home Midori. Welcome Maika-chan, Sakura-chan, I haven't seen you two in quite some time."

"Sorry we haven't been around much Tamuro-okasan."

"So then are these your friends?"

"Yes, this is Elesis, Lire, Arme, and Amy." Sakura introduced the girls.

"So you four are guests at Sakura's house then and you need yukatas for the festival." She clapped her hands together. "Alright then, one at a time come back with me so I can get measurements then we'll decide on fabric and designs."

"You go first." Elesis said as she pushed Arme forward. Arme and Tamuro's mother went into the back room.

"Midori!" Tamuro's mother called from the back room. "I need you to go into town and pick up some things for dinner. The list and the money are on the kitchen table!"

"OK, I will. Come on Maika, you're coming to."

"Why?"

"Because you're not getting a yukata and otherwise I'll be bored." Tamuro dragged Fukayama out of the room.

"And now it's just us." Elesis said. "Now listen up, when it's time for this festival we're going to get Arme and Ronan alone together."

"What's gotten into you?" Lire asked. "It's pretty rare for you to come up with something like that." Elesis shrugged her shoulders.

"Just because I fight with Ronan and Arme doesn't mean I don't care." Lire shook her head

"Fine, whatever. What's your plan?"

"Easy. We'll convince my father and Urashin to go and drink somewhere or something like that." Sakura rolled her eyes. "After that, Sakura and I will drag Justin away, Amy will take Ryan somewhere and you'll figure something out to separate Lass from the group." Lire sighed.

"Fine, we'll make it happen."

"We get to spy on them right?" Amy asked, excited.

"Do whatever you want just make sure Ryan doesn't screw anything up." Elesis glanced at Lire, "_And like that we kill two birds with one stone._"

Arme came out of the back room after a few minutes and the other girls went in one by one to get measured.

"I wasn't aware that measurements were required for yukatas." Sakura said to Tamuro's mother.

"They aren't strickly, you need a basic size at least to make sure it's not to small and that it doesn't slip off, but I think taking measurements before deciding yukatas just makes them more personal."

"Fair enough... so what designs are you thinking?" Tamuro's mother went through several designs that she had in a large folder. "What if we tried putting Amy in this one?" Sakura pointed at one of the designs. Tamuro's mother nodded.

"I think you're right, and it looks like I have a size that will suit her well enough." Tamuro's mother wrote a number next to Amy's name on a sheet of paper then continued flipping through the folder. After they decided on the four designs they collected the yukatas and, with great difficulty, dressed the girls. By the time they were finished, Tamuro and Fukayama had made it back to the house.

"Wow, they look pretty good." Tamuro commented as she walked in. Amy was wearing a white Yukata decorated with a light pink rose design. Elesis had a blood red yukata on with circles of pink, green and white decorating it in random places. Arme wore a violet yukata which had a design which looked similar to fireworks in a lighter shade of purple. Lire had on a yellow yukata which was decorated with dark green vines. "They actually look really good."

"Where's yours Sakura?" Fukayama asked.

"Oh that's right, let me get the one I made for you." Tamuro's mother said, suddenly very excited. "I think it's one of my greatest works." She ran into the back room.

"Is it really that good?" Sakura asked.

"She ordered custom cloth." Tamuro answered. "But she wouldn't even let me look at it until now."

"What do you think of this?" Tamuro's mother asked as she came back holding a new yukata. This one was a swirl of black and white. The black sections were decorated with stars while the white had flower petals.

"Wow, that's really beautiful." Sakura said amazed.

"I'm glad you like it, I always wanted to make something like this and I thought this was my chance."

"Amazing... thank you so much." Sakura said happily.

"Don't worry about it, it was my pleasure, really." After packing up the five yukatas and paying Tamuro's mother the girls headed back to the shrine.

"These really are beautiful." Elesis commented as they walked. "They kind of remind me of the kimonos that Ronan's mother would make."

"Kimonos? Kimonos are another part of japanese culture, there's no way someone from your world should've known how to make them."

"What? No way, Auntie Ai knew all kinds of things like that."

"Is it possible she came from this world then, just like Faren?" Lire commented.

"I'll look into it later." Sakura promised. "But it's been a long day and I want to rest." The girls reached the shrine in about a half-hour.

"Are you girls home!" Eiau called as they entered the house. "Come in here, there are some people who want to see you."

"What's this, now?" Sakura mumbled as they entered the room.

"Aria!" Elesis screamed almost as soon as the door opened. There were two unfamiliar women in the room. The first sat with her arm around Ronan's shoulder. She had long, dark blue hair and purple eyes, she almost looked like the female version of Ronan. The other was a tall woman who had mid-length blonde hair that was fashioned into a bob. She looked straight at Amy as soon as they entered.

"Mom?" Amy asked reluctantly.

"I know I look different but is it really that hard to tell who I am?" Amy ran forward hugged her mother.

"I'm so happy to see you again."

"Me to Amy, I was afraid as to what may have happened to you when Silverland disappeared but it seems the world outside was fine."

"What about Jin and Gang and Victor?" Amanda shook her head.

"I got sent to this world fairly seen after Silverland was cut off... but I wouldn't worry. Gang and Victor are both strong enough to take care of the island, they are the last of the silver knights, after all."

"You're right, I have nothing to worry about, I'm sure Jin's a powerful fighter now to."

"You're right, I'm sure they're fine."

"It's good to see you again, Aria." Elesis greeted.

"You to Elesis." Aria pulled Elesis down and hugged her and Ronan together. "I'm very happy to see both of you again."

"How did you get here?"

"I came with Amanda."

"Yes, I was supposed to go find her but as I was about to leave she appeared at my doorstep."

"Someone told me where I needed to go." Eiau and Urashin's eyebrows raised.

"Who told you to go and meet Amanda?"

"Shuren. He appeared and disappeared just as quickly."

"Shuren! What is that man thinking?"

"Don't bother worrying about him, you know that if he doesn't want to be found then he won't be. We'll just have to wait for him to come to us again."

"I suppose you're right. Well then, evveryone introduce yourselves to our new guests and then go off and do as you wish, Elesis be sure to get at least some work in today."

"Yes, father." The expanding group of people scattered leaving Aurora and Eiau alone in the room.

"Shuren... the only one who has no connection to the current generation."

"Eiau, I believe that he's-"

"I agree, but there's no way to be certain. It's like Aria said, if he doesn't want to be found, he won't be. We'll have to ask him after he comes to us."

"Yes, you're right."

* * *

Phew, my life was absorbed by damn near everything. Set building for Romeo and Juliet, English projects, Speeches and then there were the 5 days in Hawaii with no internet... not to mention that I'm now trying publish an original fiction on fictionpress. Either way I'll make sure to write this story when I can... Well review and have a nice day.


	33. The Festival

Bah, this would've been done quicker but I took my nephew to the park and was working on my homework when some annoying little kid who was throwing rocks around behind me hit my screen and cracked it. I just got the computer back. Well w/e I'll bore you another time, read on.

Enjoy

* * *

It had been two days since the girls little excursion and the arrival of Aria and Amanda. Ronan and Amy had jumped right into training, although Amy's training was little more than vocal lessons at this point. On top of that, Elesis was now training with Eiau for use of, as he named it, the Grand-blade. Ryan sat up on his futon and yawned. He had relived the events of the villages last day in his dream again. He had no clue why these dreams had started up again but now that the village was on his mind he found himself unable to separate his thoughts. He looked around the room, both the other futons in the room were empty. Lass was an early riser and already gone, Ronan had probably been taken early by Aria for training. Ryan put on his clothes and exited the room.

"Good morning, Ryan." Lire greeted him as she exited from the other room.

"You're up late today." Lire shrugged.

"May as well sleep in, now and again. After all I don't have any training to do." Ryan sighed.

"No kidding... I'm getting restless, would you like to train together? Even if we can't learn anything new, it's good to keep in shape."

"Well, I think we have different training methods. Unlike you, my physical strength doesn't come into play much. I'd mainly work on sight and focus by staring at something in the distance for hours."

"Archery sounds like a boring discipline to learn."

"I enjoy it, believe it or not, and it can certainly be powerful."

"I guess... whatever."

"You sound upset about something." Ryan stared at her for a moment.

"Sorry, just had a bad dream about the village. It's been awhile since I saw those dreams." Ryan looked at Lire's face again. "You look a lot like someone I knew back then." Ryan stepped closer to Lire, close enough to make her uncomfortable. "Almost exactly like her, in fact." Lire took several steps back until there was a suitable distance between them.

"Ryan, what exactly happened back then? I know you don't like to talk about it much but as a fellow elf... I want to know what happened."

"It's a long story and it sure ain't pretty."

"We're not training." Ryan sighed.

"Fine, I guess you can know but just don't tell anyone else." Lire agreed. The two found a private room in the shrine and Ryan recapped his massacre of the village. "That's what happened." Ryan concluded. Lire stared at him, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe what she had just been told.

"That's unbelievable."

"Really? If it involves Kaze'aze then I'll believe anything."

"True enough. And you said that I look like Ceria?"

"Yeah, who knows? she could be your sister or something. She did come from the tribe that fled to Eryuel." Lire shook her head.

"I don't have a sister. I remember my family. I had my parents and an older brother, but other than that..."

"I see, just random chance then."

"I am sorry that you lost Ceria, Ryan."

"I know... dammit." He stared at Lire.

"Ryan! Don't even think about it, you can't try to replace her with me just because we look alike. If you even tried that then you'd be the biggest idiot I know." Ryan sighed.

"I certainly would be. I just feel so guilty about what happened. Maybe, the dreams started up again because I haven't been preoccupied with Kaze'aze and I've had time to notice you're appearance. Lass' stupid questions about love and happiness and whatever else probably aren't helping either."

"Probably not. If it is because of the way I look then I'm sorry."

"You can't control that, it's not your fault."

"Go and train with Ronan or Elesis and get your mind off of things." With that, Lire stood and left the room. Ryan watched longingly as she left.

"Dammit." He stood to leave the room as well. He looked back at the empty and unfamiliar room. "Ceria..." He muttered, painfully, as he left the room.

* * *

A cloaked figure with a long, black, metal shaft strapped to his back climbed the steps of the shrine. He reached the top of the stairs and stared at the shrine in front of him. Crossing his arms, he bellowed in a deep masculine voice. "Eiau! Come out here and face me!" After a few minutes, Eiau appeared with Elesis, Lass and Aurora. Arme, Urashin, Justin and Sakura appeared shortly after. Amy, Amanda, Ryan and Lire were the last to appear. For some reason, neither Aria nor Ronan came out.

"What's going on here?" Ryan asked annoyed. He looked at the cloaked figure. "Oh god dammit, this again." The other's looked at Ryan questioningly. He shrugged his shoulders and sat down, resting his chin in his hand, to watch the duel.

"Who are you?" Eiau asked menacingly.

"I was sent here to meet Eiau."

"Sent here? Has Faren managed to find a way to send his minions to our world." Lass questioned, genuinely concerned. The cloaked man pulled the shaft off his back. He swung it to the side causing a sharp scythe blade to emerge and lock itself in place. He held the shaft in both hands with the blade aiming towards Eiau. Eiau swung the sword he had been using to train Elesis over his shoulder and took a fighting stance.

"Sounds like fun. I don't care who sent you here, let's just go at it." The two charge forward clashing their weapons and jumping back. They dash forward again and continue crashing their weapons into each other.

"We should help Eiau." Arme told the others, "if that is someone sent by Faren then we can't risk him winning."

"Don't." Ryan ordered, annoyed. "That's Riallan, he loves doing shit like this."

"You seem rather relaxed for that to be Riallan."

"If I interrupt his fun then I get a scythe shaft to the back of the head. I'll wait until he's done, at which point I'll probably punch him in the face to say hello."

"You know me so well kid." Riallan laughed from behind Ryan. Everyone, including Ryan, looked at the elven man with his short blonde hair and muscular build. "Hey Kataleen, Amanda, Old man. How've you guys been?" Ryan blinked a couple of times.

"If you're there then that's...?"

"Leave it to me." Riallan announced as he pulled his own scythe, which looked notably different from the cloaked figures, and charged the brawling pair. "I've got your back, uncle."

"Riallan?" Eiau questioned, surprised. "Aren't I sparring with you?"

"Nope, don't know who this bastard is." Riallan flipped his scythe around his body and made a quick swipe at the unknown adversary who blocked the blow and jumped back. "Heh, your mine." Riallan charged and swung his scythe. The opponent swung his as well and the two scythes caught within each other's blades. "You're good." Riallan praised his opponent as they broke the blade lock and crashed their scythes together. Energy began to rise around Riallan. It slowly began to seep out until it suddenly burst out causing thorny vines to raise around him. The opponent unleashed dark energy causing black thorns to appear around him. The two charged each other, the vines following close behind them.

"OK, Stop!" Someone screamed causing both combatants to stop and the vines to dissipate. They look back at the door to the shrine. Aria was standing in the doorway with Ronan right behind her. She walked forward quickly and, using both hands, smashed Riallan in the back of the head with her shield. Riallan fell to the ground moaning and holding his head in agony. Aria turned to the cloak man and ripped the hood off his head. Underneath was another Riallan.

"What the hell!" Ryan screamed from the shrine, "Since when could he do that!" Aria smashed the second Riallan in the back of the head with her shield causing him to turn into a group of vines which, limply, fell to the ground. Aria knelt down and grabbed Riallan's ear.

"Oh come on, aren't I in enough pain as it is!" Riallan yelled as he held Aria's wrist with one hand and his head with the other. Aria dragged Riallan to his feet and then dragged him into the shrine, Riallan moaning in pain the whole way. Ronan, Ryan and almost everyone else watched on in awe as the two went into the shrine.

"What the hell just happened!" Ryan screamed, extremely frustrated. Eiau and Urashin laughed. It started as a chuckle but grew into hysterical laughter after a short time. Everyone, including Amanda and Aurora stared at the two.

"That is the danger of falling in love with a strong woman." Eiau calmed down enough to say that before he started laughing again. Ronan's head slowly turned to glare at Ryan. Ryan held up both his hands and shook his head.

"You can't hold me responsible for that guys choices or actions." He said desperately.

"True enough, but I don't stand a chance against him. You on the other hand..." Ryan turned and broke into a mad dash, Ronan followed close behind with his hands balled into fists.

"_Well, at least this'll give Ryan something else to think about for awhile._" Lire thought as she joined everyone else in their laughter.

* * *

After Aria yelled at Riallan and he got his head bandaged, everyone met in the same room as usual to be introduced to their new guest.

"I'm Riallan, Ryan's adoptive brother and, to the best of our knowledge, the only remaining Viken. For the sake of full disclosure, Aria and I were planning to get engaged at some point after we went and checked on our homes, but Aria disappeared before we saw each other again."

"Shut up dammit!" Ryan yelled as he held Ronan back by his wrists.

"So is that your younger brother?" Riallan asked Aria.

"Yes and unfortunately, he's more trouble than you." Aria grabbed Ronan's ear and dragged him away from Ryan. Ryan and Lass slid behind the girls as the conversation continued.

"So, Riallan... I think I know the answer but how did you find us?" Eiau asked.

"Shuren told me where to go."

"I thought as much."

"I've been in some big huge forest since I got to this world, then Shuren shows up out of nowhere and gives me a cloak and some little slip of paper and takes me to this weird place with these huge metal birds. He tells me to look for someone who has a sign that says Eiau on it and that he would take me to where you were."

"What is Shuren doing?" Aurora questioned. "Is he collecting everyone, or does he have some other motive?"

"Again, we'll never be able to figure Shuren out until he wants to be found." Eiau told her.

"Eiau is right on that subject." Urashin backed him up, "If Shuren doesn't want to be found or figured out then it won't happen, he's a true master of stealth and reconnaissance."

"That's true but we do need to be wary of anything that man does." Amanda put in her thoughts. "I still haven't forgotten the times he used us as bait for Kaze'aze's minions." Eiau and Riallan laughed, pathetically, as they remembered the event.

"What really gets me is that he was actually surprised when we met up with him again, he had never planned some way for us to get out." Aria commented annoyed.

"OK, that's enough. This isn't the place to complain about him. We also need to track down Yuria as quickly as we can."

"Somehow I get the feeling that if she's out there, Shuren will bring her with him."

"I agree, however there is still the chance that he won't so we must do what we can to find her."

"If I could say something." Sakura took everyone's attention. "Tomorrow's Monday, so the festival preparations begin. In other words, no loud training, we don't need the people who will be around for the next week seeing anything they shouldn't."

"Sakura's right, keep your training to the minimal. Lire and Lass can help Sakura." Eiau decided. "Riallan, I assume you'll begin training Ryan tomorrow."

"Sure sure, whatever. Honestly, he's got all the nature power he needs thanks to the Nephilim, I just gotta teach him how to hold a scythe and he'll be a Viken."

"How did you know about the Nephilim?"

"I'm a Viken. I know the status of the Nephilim at all times, even if I am in another world. Also, stop feeling guilty, about both the village and the Forest, you're pissing both me and the Nephilim off."

"How do you know how the Nephilim feels?" Aria asked.

"You kidding? I haven't heard more than half of what you guys have said because I've been talking to him this whole time."

"Uh, wha-"

"Training starts tomorrow, Ryan. Someone wanna show me where I'm staying?"

"Yeah, alright." Eiau stood and led Riallan out of the room.

"Geez, he's out there." Arme commented.

"Yeah, but he's tough." Ryan replied. "... He wears me out, I'm taking a nap." Ryan left the room.

"OK everyone, I don't care what you do just remember to train discreetly tomorrow." Sakura said as the rest of the group left the room.

* * *

A week passed. Everyone other than Amy's training was slowed to a crawl as the festival was prepared. Sakura entered the shrine where the girls were talking.

"Festival's tonight." She announced as she dropped two packages on the table.

"What's in those?" Amy asked.

"Your yukatas and the ones I just picked up for Amanda, Aria and Kataleen."

"You only just decided to get them now?"

"I forgot." Sakura shrugged. "Either way, the festival starts soon, so I have to start dressing you guys."

"We can dress ourselves." Elesis replied, insulted.

"How long did it take us last time when I had Tamuro's mother helping me?"

"Fine."

"Come on, I'll start with Elesis and Amy. You two go find Aria, Amanda and Kataleen." Lire and Arme left the room while Sakura started trying to dress Elesis. Ok center the fabric, flip the sleeves, pull the fabric to the ankles..." Sakura narrated the steps as she dressed Elesis, who was very little help.

"... and tie the Obi." Lire and Arme came back with the others just as Sakura finished dressing Amy.

"Well, that looks like an interesting thing to wear." Aria commented. "Reminds me of my mothers Kimonos."

"Oh, yeah I was supposed to look into that... I'll get Justin to do it tomorrow. Anyway, it's called a Yukata and I have one for you to." Sakura opened the unopened package and pulled out a new yukata. It was dark blue and decorated with pink and sky blue butterflies. Amanda's was orange and decorated with white feathers. Aurora's was black decorated with, what looked like, falling snow.".

"They certainly are beautiful." Aurora commented.

"Well, let me help you put it on."

"I think I can figure it out on my own." Aria replied.

"Trust me, you can't."

"Aria, it's not quite the same as a kimono, it's close but it doesn't work the same." Elesis told her.

"I'll figure it out!"

"Alright then, let's watch." Sakura sat on the ground and smirked.

"Fine." Aria accepted the challenge and started trying to put the yukata on, with little luck.

"It works a lot better if you don't try to put it on over your clothes."

"I'm not getting undressed in front of all of you."

"Elesis and Amy had no problem with it, are you trying to hide something? Let me guess, you stuff your bra?" Aria glared at Sakura's arrogant attitude.

"Fine then." Aria took of her clothes before she started trying to put it on again. She got farther but still got stuck after deciding the length of the garment. "Ugh, fine how do I do this."

"Before putting on a yukata you should make sure you have everything you need." Sakura pulls out two thin sashes. "Make sure you have the Koshi-himos next time."

"How was I supposed to know about those?"

"I thought you were going to figure it out." Aria sulked as Sakura finished dressing her. "It looks pretty good on you, now you just need to stop being so proud." Aria sneered and went to stand with Elesis and Amy. Amanda took the Koshi-himos from Sakura and dressed herself, perfectly. "Wow, you look great, better than Aria even." Aria huffed as Amanda walked up to them. Aurora took off her clothes and held her arms out at her sides.

"I'm not even going to try, do your work." Sakura shrugged and started dressing Aurora. Aurora would squirm or move at the worst times, causing the yukata to slip off or reset it's length. Sakura was forced to start over three times before she finally got it done."

"You're worse than Elesis." Sakura seethed. "Go stand with them. OK Lire and Arme, you two are the only ones left... this is taking longer than I expected. Amanda, will you dress Arme for me?" Amanda came forward and helped Arme while Sakura worked on Lire. The two were dressed quickly enough. "Finally. Now I have to go put mine on, just wait here for me and we'll all go together. Sakura left and returned to her room. She came back about five minutes later in her custom yukata. Everyone in the room stared at the design.

"How did you get that one? It's amazing."

"It was made for me personally since my shrine hosts this festival. Now come on, let's go walk around the festival, we can meet up with the guys later." Sakura led the girls outside. People had begun to trickle in, most of the girls were wearing the same type of clothing that Sakura had gotten for everyone.

"Sakura!" Tamuro and Fukayama came running up to the group. "Just how many quests do you have."

"This is just the women. There's like, six male guests to."

"Where are they?" Fukayama asked, excitedly.

"For just one night, can you stop?" Tamuro begged. "Just one night?"

"Fine... I won't bring it up again tonight."

"Good to see you girls again." Eiau approached from behind Tamuro and Fukayama with a blanket under his arm and a basket with bottles of sake in his hand. Following close behind him were Riallan and Urashin. Riallan averted his eyes as soon as he saw Aria, Sakura assumed it was to hide the blush that she could still see very clearly.

"Good to see you again. Are these guests staying at your house."

"Oh yes, this is Urashin and Riallan." Eiau introduced the two.

"I guess you don't know these three. This is Aria, Amanda and Kataleen." Tamuro and Fukayama introduced themselves as well.

"So where are the boys then?" Sakura asked.

"I gave them all some money and they went to look around."

"Please tell me you gave them some good clothes to wear."

"Lass just wore what we had him wearing normally but I gave the other two some better clothes."

"Good, so what are your plans?"

"Me and Urashin are going to rest and watch the fireworks, probably with some sake."

"I figured as much, but the fireworks aren't for awhile. What are your plans Riallan?"

"I don't know, guess I'll walk around and find something fun to do."

"Take Aria with you, you two should watch the fireworks later."

"What are fireworks?"

"You don't have fireworks in your country?" Fukayama asked. "That's surprising."

"Whatever, come on Maika. Good meeting you guys." Tamuro and Fukayama left.

"I'm lucky to have gullible friends. Anyway, come find me later I'll tell you a good place to watch the fireworks from."

"Fine, wanna walk around Aria?"

"Alright then, let's take a look around."

"Take your time lovebirds." Riallan scowled at her and the two of them walked off.

"You know it's been over ten years since they saw each other, don't you?" Aurora asked.

"Who cares, they're in love." Aurora laughed.

"I guess."

"Well then, you two have fun with your drinking. I'm gonna show the others what our festivals have to offer."

"Have fun." Eiau walked away with Urashin. Sakura led the girls through the various booths.

"Isn't that Lass." Elesis said as they walked by a shooting game. The man running the game was almost pulling his hair out as he increased the size of the, already enormous, pile of stuffed animals at Lass' feet.

"You're good at that." Sakura commented.

"If I can aim knives then I can aim this thing." Lass said as he dropped more money on the counter, aimed the toy rifle at the targets and increased his stuffed animal collection again.

"What do you plan to do with all these?"

"What are they for?" Sakura hit her head with her palm.

"Well, nothing you can do with them requires this many. Excuse me sir, could we trade some of these for one of those big ones."

"Please. He's almost cleaned out my small prizes, why didn't he aim for the smaller targets in the first place." Sakura shrugged.

"Sorry about that, he's not from Japan. I don't think he really understood the game that well." Sakura gave the man back a large number of the smaller stuffed animals and took one of the bigger ones. She picked it up with the smaller ones and shoved them into Lass' hands. "Take them into the shrine and then come back, but don't play anymore games." She ordered him. Lass went back to the shrine carrying the stuffed animals. Sakura shook her head. "Let's keep going, sorry again sir."

"Thank you, miss. Lovely Yukata." Sakura bowed and led the group away. She sighed.

"How much do you guys want to bet that I'm going to find Ryan and Ronan doing something stupid."

"Oh, I wouldn't take that bet." Amanda replied. "There's no doubt they are." The girls kept walking, but stopped abruptly as they came across Ryan at the goldfish scoop.

"Oh, Ryan." Sakura moaned as she looked at the eight goldfish Ryan had accumulated. He dropped another one next to them as he started digging for more money. Sakura grabbed his wrist, stopping him from paying the man again. "What are you doing?"

"All these fish shouldn't be here. So I'm getting them out."

"Ryan, even if you don't do anything more goldfish scoops run out of goldfish before the night's over."

"But-"

"Stop. Stop playing, take those to the empty pond behind the shrine and then go do something else."

Ryan resigned himself to Sakura's orders. He picked up the fish and walked away, making room for others who wanted to play.

"What game is Ronan going to be cleaning out?" Sakura asked out loud as she continued walking with the others. It didn't take long for her question to be answered. They came across Ronan just a few booths down from the goldfish scoop. He was scooping water balloon yoyos while, at the same time, cleaning out the prizes from the ring toss, which was the next booth over.

"Ronan, stop."

"What's wrong?"

"I thought the other two were bad but you're playing two at once." Sakura sighed. "Take the prizes you have back to the shrine and stop playing games. Walk around with Ryan and Lass or something. Oh and bring the other guys to the foot of those steps later, around the time the sun sets."

"Fine." Ronan answered as he picked up his prizes and went to take them inside the shrine. Sakura shook her head.

"OK, the boys are under control now so let's go and have some fun." The girls walked through the festival for several hours. They bought candy and masks and various other treats and toys. They watched some shows and saw all number of beautifully decorated yukata, even some boys were wearing them. Before they knew it the sun was setting. Sakura managed to get Amanda and Aurora to go join Eiau while she led the others to the foot of the stone steps where Ronan was supposed to bring the guys. He arrived just on time, with Ryan, Lass and Justin in tow.

"We're here, now what?"

"One second."

Sakura turned and whispered something to Lire and Amy. She then turned to Justin. "Hey Justin, there's something I wanna show you... um Elesis translate." Elesis translated Sakura's words and the two of them took Justin and split off from the group.

"She could've answered my question before she left." Ronan said annoyed.

"I want to get more snacks, do you have any money left, Ryan?" Amy asked.

"Yeah..."

"Great, you're treating." She said happily as she dragged him back into the booths.

"Why did we bother meeting at all?" Lass asked as the group petered down to just him, Lire, Ronan and Arme. Someone suddenly covered his mouth and dragged him up the stone steps while Ronan and Arme were watching Amy drag Ryan away. They turned back to find that Lass and Lire had both disappeared.

"The hell?" Ronan said annoyed. "What happened to those two?" Arme shook her head.

"I have no clue."

"Well, then. I guess it's just you and me." Arme blushed realizing she was alone with Ronan. Then she remembered something Sakura had told her earlier, while they were walking around the festival.

"Um, I think I know a good place we could go."

"Where's that?"

"Sakura told me about it, apparently it's a good place to watch the fireworks from."

"Seriously, what are fireworks?" Arme shrugged.

"Let's go find out." Ronan nodded and followed Arme. Arme walked slowly, and kept taking glances back at Ronan, who was staring up at the sky in a daze. He looked at her and smiled. It was a friendly smile, the type that he would give to anyone. Arme turned back and kept walking.

"You look nice." Ronan said from behind her. Arme blushes.

"Thanks."

"Beautiful clothing, isn't it?"

"Um, yes."

"Your's really suits you, you look great." These were just the type of compliments Ronan would have given to anyone he ended up alone with, and Arme knew that. She felt, somewhat sad knowing that she's the same as Elesis or Lire in his eyes.

"I think she said to go this way." Arme said as she turned a corner and headed away from the festival. Even though they were leaving the festival there were still some paper lanterns around, lighting their path. "These are interesting lights." Arme commented, desperate to break the awkward silence.

"They are, aren't they. They're made of paper but could be lit by candles if need be. They make nice decorations as well.

"Y-yeah, they're pretty."

"Like you." Ronan said with no shame and a simple smile on his face. Arme blushed intensely, even though she knew that his compliment really wasn't anything special.

"I think this is the place." Arme said as she came across a lonely spot, that was very dark. She said if we sit here and look out this way we'll see the fireworks display, whatever that is."

"Alright then." Ronan sat down on the ground. "C'mon sit down." Arme sat down next to him. They waited for a few minutes when a huge explosion went off above them and a blast of color filled the sky. "Are these fireworks?" Ronan asked stupidly.

"I, think so. It doesn't seem to be an attack at least."

"They're beautiful, how do they do that?" Arme shook her head.

"I don't know." Both of them were to absorbed into the fireworks to say anything else. Arme managed to tear her eyes away after fifteen minutes or so of the display and looked at Ronan. She blushed. Ronan's hair and skin being lit by the beautifully colored lights made her very shy. She slowly let her hand creep across the ground towards his. He pulled back the moment she touched him.

"Sorry, did you need something." Ronan asked.

"N-no, sorry."

"You look cold." Ronan swung his arm around Arme's shoulders and pulled her into him. Arme's heart was beating faster than it ever had before. She smiled and leaned her head on Ronan's chest. "That any better?"

"Y-yeah." She replied. "Much better." They continued watching the fireworks. "Ronan?"

"Need something?" Arme contemplated whether to say what she wanted to say, but it was a bit late to turn back now.

"Ronan, I... think..."

"Hm, is something wrong."

"... I think... that the fireworks are beautiful." Ronan looked at her wierdly.

"Yeah, they are." Arme slides her arm around and hugs Ronan. Ronan looks at her, questioningly, then hugs her back with the arm that's around her shoulders. THey sat there like that watching the fireworks.

"Boring." Elesis said from her hiding place which was a short distance behind them.

"Just watch the fireworks." Sakura told her. Elesis stuck her tongue out at Sakura and Justin sat there, utterly confused.

"I'm gonna do something." She said as she slowly crept forward.

"I should have known that this wasn't out of the goodness of her heart." Sakura said to Justin. Justin shrugged his shoulders indicating that he didn't understand a word she was saying. "Yeah, whatever." Sakura followed behind Elesis. Justin followed behind them. Elesis picked up a few small rocks and began throwing them at the two. Every shot was a complete failure. "You're aim sucks." Sakura said, matter of factly.

"I'm a knight, I don't aim rocks most of the time."

"Give me those." Justin said taking the rocks from Elesis. "What's the target?"

"The back of Arme's neck."

"I get a sneaking suspicion that this won't go well... but I'm not responsible if something bad happens." Justin laid the small pebble on his palm and flicked it. It was a perfect shot hitting Arme in the back of the neck. Arme jumped from her postion in Ronan's chest hitting him in the chin with her head. Ronan fell backwards clutching his face and screaming loudly enough that the people hiding behind him could hear him somewhat, even in the din of the fireworks.

"Are you OK?" Arme asked frantically as she helped him up. Ronan used his hand to rub his jaw.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. What happened?"

"S-sorry, sorry," Arme apologized continuously, "Something hit the back of my neck and I jumped."

"It's OK, no serious damage done."

"Well that was an utter failure." Sakura commented.

"What was the intended result?" Justin asked. Elesis, annoyed, picked up another small pebble and threw it. This time her aim was dead on and it hit Arme in the back of the neck again. Arme jumped forward, clutching Ronan and causing them to fall over with Arme lying on top of Ronan.

"That." Elesis said triumphantly.

"I shouldn't have lent her those manga. "Sakura said shaking her head. "Not that you can understand a word that I'm saying."

Arme looked at Ronan, blushing furiously. "S-sorry." Ronan grabbed her shoulders.

"Are you OK?" He asked. Arme stared at him, without saying anything. Ronan stared back at Arme, confused to no end. The lights of the fireworks illuminated the sky behind Arme, making her beautiful violet hair stand out, framing her face perfectly. Ronan blinked a few times.

"You really are beautiful." He said with his normal, casual smile. Arme wasn't aware but Ronan was being entirely sincere. Arme bit her lip, then, without thinking, fell down and kissed Ronan. Ronan's eyes opened wide. He had the strength and position and could've easily pushed her away, but he was so surprised that the thought didn't even register in his mind for quite a while. It finally did after about fifteen seconds at which point he pushed Arme up by her shoulders and let her fall to the ground next to him. He stood up and brushed himself off. The fireworks display ended moments later.

"Let's head back." Ronan said forcefully. He didn't extend his hand to Arme as he normally would and started walking ahead of her. Arme pushed herself to her feet, despite the trouble the yukata was causing her, and tried to catch up.

"I'm sorry."

"You've been saying that a lot tonight. I'm not angry, so just drop the subject and forget it ever happened."

"A-alright... sorry."

"Jerk." Elesis said to herself as she waited for them to get far enough away so that they could come out of hiding. "I'm gonna have to talk to him later."

"If you do that then he'll know you were spying." Sakura said, annoyed. "And considering the way you two interact he'll probably assume that you were responsible for what happened, at which point he'll tell Arme and then she'll be mad at you to."

"Hmph, I'll figure something out."

"Just leave us out of it next time." Sakura pulled on Justin's wrist to let him know that she wanted him to follow her. The two left together. Elesis followed shortly after, cursing at Ronan under her breath.

* * *

Lire let go of Lass and looks down the stairs to see Arme and Ronan walking off together.

"What are you doing?"

"Elesis' plan, we're getting Arme and Ronan alone together. My job was to get you away from them." Lass realized immediately that Elesis kept her debt from the bet and organized this to help him.

"And you couldn't have done it like Amy did? you had to kidnap me?"

"Sorry about that. I didn't know what I would say to get you to follow." Lass shrugged, trying to look like he didn't care about it.

"Just ask."

"Well, Sakura told me about a good place up here to watch the fireworks from, whatever those are. Wanna go check it out?"

"Uh, yeah sure, I can join you."

"Well, don't you sound superior."

"You kidnapped me."

"Sorry, sorry. Here follow me." Lire led Lass through a path in the trees that were behind the small altar at the top of the stairs. They didn't say anything to each other until they came out on the other side. They were on a small cliff, looking down Lass could see more land at the bottom of the cliff. He couldn't make out anymore than that due to the lack of lights.

"It's gotten dark, the sun set pretty quickly." Lass commented, trying to fill the silence.

"It did, I wonder when these fireworks are gonna start?" A big explosion went off in the sky. Lire, who had her back to the fireworks, jumped at Lass, who was mesmerized by the lights in the sky. He came to when Lire wrapped her arms around his neck, almost causing him to lose his balance.

"Scared?"

"Just surprised."

"Take a look, it's pretty amazing." Lire let go of Lass' neck and sat next to him to watch the fireworks. The fireworks had Lire's full attention while Lass started darting his eyes around. He wasn't bored, it was just his habit to keep an eye on his entire surroundings when not in a safe place. With the flashes of the fireworks, he noticed several people down on the ground near the bottom. "Ronan, Arme, Elesis, Sakura and Justin." Lass listed them off.

"What?" Lass pointed down the cliff. "Oh yeah, there they are. We're probably the only people who could identify them at this distance, in this light." Lire giggled and went back to watching the fireworks. Lass looked at Lire. He couldn't help following the design of the vines on her yukata. They wove themselves together and up the yukata. Lass followed them to Lire's face. He stared at her pale skin and red lips illuminated in the moonlight. She was beautiful, he thought. He stared at her long blonde hair that fell down her back. When getting dressed for the festival, they had removed Lire's hairband and let her bangs hang down. Lass felt strange. He couldn't describe the feeling. The only way he could describe it was that it was the same thing he felt two weeks ago when Lire kissed him.

_"Is this love?"_ Lass thought._ "I feel happy right now, just being able to watch her and she is distracting me from the fireworks... how could I find any person more interesting than these things?"_ Lass thought back to what he had been told. He remembered what Aurora had said.

'when you fall in love, you'll know. It'll be more amazing than anything you could've imagined.'

_"... I'm in love." _Lass finally admitted to himself after mulling over it for several minutes. _"I understand now... This feeling... it's amazing."_ Lire turned to him.

"Are you alright?" Lass leaned in a little closer.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure." Lire crawled backwards, away from Lass.

"How are you not sure?"

"I don't understand what I'm feeling. But..."

"Lass what are you doing?"

"Sorry, just let me check one more time."

"Check what?" Lass got closer and closer to Lire's face. Lire blushed as she realized what he was about to do. She put her hands on his chest to push him away but he held her wrists and stopped her.

"Aww, isn't that sweet." A woman's voice said from out of nowhere. Lass stumbled and fell on top of Lire, pinning her to the ground. They didn't get up, they just stared at the people next to them. Next to them was an elven woman with short blonde hair and a beautiful pale complexion. She wore a pink yukata decorated with cherries. Next to her was the silver-haired man that Lass had met over a week before. Lass thought it was at least.

"Maybe we shouldn't have interrupted." The man commented.

"I agree." They stood up and turned to leave.

"Yuria!"

"Sorry for interrupting. I'll talk to you later, Lire."

"Hey, come back here Yuria." Yuria winked.

"We'll catch up later, it looks like you're having to much fun to talk." Lire blushed again.

"Get off of me!" She yelled as she pushed Lass off of her and stood up. Yuria and the man disappeared. "Where'd they go?" Lass stood up and looked around too.

"Right next to you." Yuria replied. Lire and Lass turned to see the two standing next to them. "Isn't invisibility awesome?" They disappeared again. Yuria's voice came out of nowhere.

"Don't bother looking for us, we'll come to the shrine tomorrow and we can talk then. You two just enjoy yourselves." Lire flipped her head from side to side looking for the two. Seeing that she was absolutely furious, Lass took several steps back.

"I don't remember her ever acting like that before." Lire seethed. "We keep meeting all these old heroes but none of them act responsibly. They all act like that jerk, Ydrai." Lass was afraid to say anything. If she was this upset about Yuria's behavior then he really didn't want her remembering what he had just tried to do. He thought about jumping off the cliff, a jump like that wouldn't hold any danger to him with his abilities. It was to late by the time that Lire turned to look at him.

"Don't worry, I think everyone can act like that at times." Lass said, bravely trying to calm her down.

"Why can I hear you so clearly?"

Lass turned back to see that the fireworks had long since ended. "The fireworks are over, should we go back to the shrine?"

"Sure let's go." Lass started heading back towards the path that they had come through. Lire grabbed his ear as he walked past her. "Did you actually think I'd forgotten? What were you trying to do? Were you trying to tease me again?"

"No, I wasn't, I promise."

"Then what were you doing? What have you suddenly fallen in love with me?" Lass averted his eyes and sat there in silence. Lire knelt down in front of him, the look on her face shifting to one of pity. She patted his shoulder.

"Sorry." Lire sighed, "I can't believe I'm the one apologizing here. Either way I don't return your feelings... and that's something that you'll have to live with. Geez, this is awkward. Let's go back to the others." Lire turned away from Lass and started walking away. She silently hoped that he wouldn't say anything, she didn't want to heaar him or see him right now. Lire never believed in love happening so fast and it felt very premature to her. She felt guilty due to the condition of his mind and his unknown past, although she knew that she had done nothing wrong. Lass stared at her back as she walked away. He stood and followed her at a distance. As he walked, he wiped his face, and wondered why it was wet.

* * *

The sound of the fire works was deafening. Ryan and Amy sat on a bench in the middle of the crowd. Everyone had stopped to watch the fireworks. They'd been watching for quite a while now, Ryan was guessing they'd end soon although he had nothing to base that on. Amy had a white fox mask on the left side of her head. She had forced a mask of a little girl with pink hair and a yellow ribbon on Ryan. He wore it on the right of his head. Ryan discarded the stick that his candy apple had been on and started picking at Amy's cotton candy. Of course, everything was bought using the money that Eiau had given Ryan.

"Stop it!" Amy yelled to get her voice above the fireworks. Ryan flicked her in the nose and kept picking at the candy. Amy bit her lip and puffed her cheeks. She reached over and pushed Ryan off the edge of the bench. Ryan knocked into Fukayama who was standing at the edge of the bench with Tamuro.

"Watch it?" Fukayama yelled. The deafening blast of the last and largest firework ended as Fukayama started yelling.

"Sorry about that." Ryan apologized.

"Nice mask." Fukayama giggled.

"Fukayama?" Amy asked as she finished the cotton candy and joined them.

"Don't look at me, she forced it on me." Ryan continued the conversation with Fukayama.

"You know him?"

"Yeah, he's one of our friends who's staying at the shrine."

"I'm Fukayama Maika."

"Tamuro Midori."

"Ryan Forrest." Fukayama stared at Ryan.

"You're cute." She turned, pushed her back into his chest and looked up at him cutely. Ryan stood there, dumbfounded and confused. Tamuro pinched the sides of her nose.

"Just. One. Night." She muttered angrily. Amy puffed out her cheeks again, which made her look angry in a cute way. She pushed Fukayama away and wrapped her arm around Ryan's and rubbed her head into his arm. Ryan looked down even more dumbfounded than before. It's not like he didn't understand the gesture, like Ronan wouldn't, but he wondered why Amy was doing it to him. He knew she was playful but she had never clung to him or any of the guys before now. Tamuro put her hand on Fukayama's shoulder.

"Drop it Maika, he's spoken for."

"I'm what?"

"Hey Tamuro?" Amy asked. "Now that the fireworks are over, where do we go?"

"Well the festival's not over yet. You can look around more then just head home whenever you want to."

"Where are you two going now?"

"Some of the guys from school set up a test of courage that we promised to join, so we're heading there."

"What's a test of courage?"

"We're already running late thanks to her, you mind walking with us."

"No problem." Amy let go of Ryan. "You're welcome." She whispered and ran up to walk next to the other girls. Ryan shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and followed them.

"A test of courage is when you pair up and then walk a dark path together with nothing more than a lamp or a flashlight. Usually they'll have people set up along the way to jump out and scare you as you go."

"Sounds like fun, though I doubt I'd get scared."

"There shouldn't be an issue if you and Ryan want to join in and walk as a fifth group." Fukayama chimed in.

"Alright sounds like fun."

"OK, let's hurry."

"You heard all of that right, Ryan?" He nodded and made a quick dash to join the girls. The girls started running ahead. Ryan quickly overtook them. he normally wouldn't have been able to beat Amy but she was having trouble running in her outfit.

"Turn right up ahead!" Tamuro yelled to Ryan. He did so, and wound up putting a rather large distance between himself and the girls without even thinking about it.

"Hey." He greeted raising his hand when he got there. There were two other girls and four other guys waiting there.

"Who're you?"

"Name's Ryan Forrest. Tamuro and Fukayama invited me and my friend Amy to join you guys, but we can leave if it'll be a problem."

"Nah, it's fine. We've already chosen pairs though so you'll have to pair up with your friend." Ryan shrugged.

"Suits me." Amy, Tamuro and Fukayama finally arrived.

"You're late." One of the guys standing in the back told them.

"Sorry about that."

"So then this is Amy?" One of the girls asked. Amy nodded. "Your yukata's really nice."

"Thanks."

"The guy who had been talking to Ryan clapped his hands. "Alright listen up. The pairs are as follows. Pair one is Tamuro and me. Pair two is Nakamoto and Honda. Pair three is Kiriyama and Amara. pair four is Fukayama and Haramura. And pair five can be the new guys, Forrest and... what's your name?"

"Amy Silven."

"Alright, pair five will be Forrest and Silven. It's simple, walk the forest path, get to the altar at the end and come back. It should take about thirty minutes round trip, the pairs will leave within four or five minutes of each other. If you're out there to long or you don't pass anyone on your way back then that's pretty much a red flag that either you're lost or everyone else is. All the guys have my number so just give me a call. Gimme your phone Ryan, I'll enter my number."

"Um... I didn't bring my phone with me."

"Oh... well..."

"Don't worry, I'm good at navigating, we won't get lost. Just stay on the path right?"

"Hey, he gets it. Alright let's go Tamuro." Tamuro walked down the path with the guy who seemed like the leader. The remaining people talked until it was time for the next pair to go. Another went about five more minutes after. Fukayama broke off from her partner and came over to talk to Ryan and Amy.

"I'll be going soon, so you guys know what you have to do, right?"

"Wait about five minutes, then walk down the path. Find an altar, then walk back." Ryan said.

"OK, good. I'm off see you guys later." Fukayama ran back and grabbed her partners arm as they walked down the path. Ryan and Amy waited for awhile.

"That's about five minutes I guess." Ryan announced. "Shall we go."

"Sure." Ryan had figured out how to turn the flashlight on shortly after they gave it to him. He flicked it on and the two headed down the path. The path was over grown with trees and moss. The two looked back and forth.

"This place is creepy." Amy moaned as they walked down.

"Eh, I've never had trouble with forests at night."

"Didn't you live in a forest for a few months?"

"Yes."

"Well no wonder you're having no trouble." The bushes next to them shook. Amy jumped back. Ryan turned quickly to locate the cause of the noise. Someone jumped out of the bushes screaming in their faces. Amy grabbed Ryan from behind. Ryan swung back and punched the guy in the face. He tumbled along the ground, holding his cheek.

"The hell!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to." Amy peeked her face around Ryan's back. "You done?"

"Sorry." She let go of Ryan. Ryan helped the guy who jumped at them up.

"Geez, don't do that further ahead man. I'm tough, but we've got some weaker people up ahead."

"OK, I'll be careful."

"Well I'm heading back, see ya when you're done." The guy turned and walked down the path towards the start.

"OK Amy, you lead." Ryan pushed a reluctant Amy in front of him and they continued walking. They walked for a few more minutes and ran into Tamuro and the leader. The leader was ducked behind Tamuro like a coward and Tamuro just looked bored.

"How are you two?"

"Punched a guy who jumped at us." Tamuro sighed.

"Of course you did... don't do that."

"What's with him?"

"He's a coward. You two have fun." Tamuro dragged the leader away with her as they continued on their way. Ryan pushed Amy in front of him again and they got going. On the way there, they ran into the other pairs and three more people who tried to scare them. Ryan managed to avoid attacking them thanks to Amy's lead, although that's not to say he didn't try. It took about ten minutes before they reached the small altar. There were several paper lanterns adorning the shrine.

"Guess they came to set this up earlier." Ryan commented as he sat down and leaned against the shrine. "Sit down, take a load off."

"Shouldn't we be going back."

"Nah, let's see how long it takes them to find us."

"You're mean."

"It'll be funny." Amy sat down next to Ryan and pulled a bag of candy out of the sleeve of her yukata. "Wow, that's convenient."

"I figured out how to use it." She said as she offered some candy to Ryan. Ryan took some and sucked on it.

"Thanks."

"So what is there to talk about?" Ryan shrugged.

"Pick something."

"Family?" Ryan shook his head. "Faren?"

"Let's not get into him right now."

"... Love?"

"Sure."

"So have you ever been in love?"

"Yeah, but she's dead now."

"She is?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Then why'd you agree to this topic?"

"Because it seemed like the best of the things you would come up with."

"So, do you think you'll fall in love again?"

"Maybe... if I meet the right person."

"Who's the right person?"

"How should I know?"

"Lire? Elesis?"

"Maybe, I guess."

"Not Arme so... me?"

"Perfectly possible, who knows, really?"

"And you're alright with just not knowing?"

"Right now I'm focused on saving our world. Our training will be done soon enough. We just have to hope that Urashin has found a way back by then... we're already taking to long as it is."

"Yeah, I guess your right... It's fun here so I forgot."

"Yeah... What about you? Have you ever been in love?"

"Not love, just kind of a little crush."

"And who on."

"My step-brother, before he became my step-brother."

"Silverland, was it?"

"Yeah, his name was Jin and he was being trained by his father, Gang and his father's best friend, Victor, to become a silver knight. That's all he would focus on though, I got over my little crush after I left Silverland."

"Fair enough."

"I told you, so now tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Who you were in love with?" Ryan sighed.

"Her name was Ceria. She was orphaned in the Orcs attack over ten years, just like me. We grew up together and after a while I just... fell in love."

"So did she love you to?"

"Yes... yes she did, but unfortunately..." Ryan reached over and pulled more candy. "Sorry, I'd really rather not talk about it."

"That's alright then."

"... it's taking them to long, let's head back." Ryan stood up.

"Oh, alright." Amy tried to stand up but accidentally slipped on the hem of her yukata. she fell down on her foot. "Ow, ow ow." She moaned.

"You alright?" Ryan knelt down and examined her foot. "Hurt your ankle. It'll be better by morning thanks to the increased healing speed we have in this world but you won't be walking tonight. Guess I'm carrying you back." Ryan turned around and knelt down in front of her. "Get on."

"Are you sure, I'm sure I'm heavy. I can walk."

"Get on." Ryan said calmly yet forcefully. Amy climbed onto his back after a moment. Ryan stood up and started walking back down the path.

"Ryan? It's a bit late now but earlier you said something about healing faster?"

"You haven't noticed? We heal faster and get stronger faster while were in this world. Didn't it strike you as odd when Elesis' strength and speed had increased by such a dramatic degree after just three days of jogging and exercise."

"Now that you mention it, that is kind of strange." The rest of the walk was held in silence. Neither had much to say, and both were getting tired. Amy was embarrassed being carried piggy-back like a child. She laid her head on Ryan's shoulder and watched the darkness go by. Ryan didn't even note the situation. He just saw it was helping a friend and ally. After a fifteen minute walk, the two re-emerged outside of the small forest that they had been in. Tamuro, Fukayama and Sakura all rushed up to them.

"Oh, good you're here. We called Sakura and your other friends and were about to go looking." Tamuro said, relieved.

"Did you get lost?"

"No, Amy hurt her ankle so I had to carry her and it slowed us down. No big deal really. I"m tired, let's go back to the shrine." Without letting Amy down Ryan continued past them and headed back towards the shrine.

"This is a moment out of one of my Manga." Sakura said to her friends as Ryan headed towards the shrine.

"No kidding." Fukayama replied.

"Well, it is getting late so I'm heading back. See you guys at school tomorrow." Sakura left her friends and caught up with the others.

"Are you OK, Amy?" Elesis asked as she walked next to Ryan. Amy, who had fallen asleep on Ryan's shoulder, didn't respond. Elesis went into thought for a moment, then a twinkle entered her eye. Sakura noticed this and grabbed her from behind.

"No more meddling, and no more manga." She told Elesis firmly.

"Aww, come on. Let me play with them."

"No." Sakura said firmly, yet in a whisper so as not to alert the others. "Look at how much good you did with Arme and Ronan, I"m not letting you meddle anymore." Sakura held on to Elesis the entire walk back to the shrine. "I'm keeping a close eye on you." She whispered to her as she went to bed. Elesis sighed.

"Fine fine, I won't do anything." She muttered to herself as she put on the pajamas Sakura had given her. "Good night." She said to the other girls as she turned out the light and went to sleep.

* * *

Phew, done. This one's over 10,000 words, my longest chapter by a fair margin. Shameless plug, I've got a story on fictionpress as well. If you're ever bored and need something to occupy ten minutes or so (There's only 2 chapters and a prologue so far) it's titled "The Seekers" and is under the same penname as I use on this site. Well Review, and good night.


	34. an ancient blessing

*Yawn* Sorry it took so long. I essentially pick points I want to get to and build to them. The closer I get the faster I write and I burn out for awhile right after. The points so far have been Gaikoz, Ronan and Grant's battle, Kaze'aze's second form and the festival. Right now I'm kinda burned out and to add even more to it I just became responsible for bookings and stuff at the theatre which is just a lot more work... well let's see how well I last for this time.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Hello everyone, I'm Yuria."

"Shuren." The two newest guests at the shrine introduced themselves. The blonde elven woman and the silver haired man had come to the shrine just as they had said they would and now introduced themselves as the two remaining warriors of the past. Lire held herself back from jumping at Yuria. Whether she wanted to jump at her in love or in anger was unknown, even to Lire.

"Let me begin then." Urashin said. "How did you two come to discover this shrine and find us?"

"Shuren told me." Yuria said.

"I had thought as much... and Shuren. If you knew about this place why did it take you so long to come to us?"

"I've been here hundreds of times before, you just never saw me."

"It's like we said," Eiau began. "If Shuren doesn't want to be found then he won't be. I'm just glad that he came to us in the end. He's probably been checking up on all of us since long before Kataleen and the kids came to this world."

"Pretty much, all except Riallan. I only managed to find him about a week ago."

"Well, then, Shuren. There's one question that has been at the forefront of my mind. By any chance, are you Lass' older brother." Lass' head shot an alarmed look at Eiau. His memory was getting clearer and clearer but anything concerning his family was a complete blank. He couldn't help but wonder whether Eiau knew more about his past, or whether something else was happening.

"Lass is that one, right?" He said, jerking his thumb towards Lass. Eiau nodded. "The First time that I saw him was when he tried to choke Sakura. I have no clue who he is."

"But didn't you say that you had to go and take care of your little brother after the battle." Aurora asked.

"Yes, but he was dead when I got back. And then Faren appeared out of nowhere and sent me here. Besides, my brother's name was Vense, not Lass." Lass sat down. He was relieved and disappointed at the same time, although he wasn't entirely sure why.

"Lass, how are your memories?" Eiau asked.

"Pretty clear now. But I still have no memory of any potential family or friends."

"If you grew up on the street like me and Vense then it's likely that you didn't have any of either." Shuren said, coldly.

"I never once mentioned that I grew up on the streets." Lass replied, accusingly. Shuren stayed calm and collected.

"No you didn't. But Amy never mentioned that she had a crush on a guy named Jin when she was younger and Arme never mentioned to me that she never knew her birth parents, I still know those facts. Don't think for a moment that there's something about any of you that I haven't determined yet."

"Take his word for it, he knows almost everything about everyone here." Yuria backed Shuren up. Eiau and Urashin both nodded along with Yuria's statement. Lass sat back down.

"I'll believe it, since so many people back your claims. So why did you wait this long to appear?"

"If I had revealed myself, they would have made me stay and I wouldn't have been able to bring Aria, Riallan and Yuria here."

"True enough..." Lass mumbled. Leaving the two of them to their slow and almost wordless conversation, the others continued talking.

"So where were you?" Aria asked Yuria.

"I don't know, somewhere over west, according to Shuren. Lots of mountains."

"That's all you can tell us?" Yuria shrugged.

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not..." Lire stood abruptly.

"Yuria, can we please begin training?" She asked, forcefully. "I'm already behind the others as it is. Please, let's begin?"

"Oh, come on Lire. Sit down and talk with everybody first." Lire glared at Yuria. Yuria sighed. "Fine, let's go." She stood and left the room with Lire.

"Lire seemed angry." Riallan commented.

"I think she was just restless from being so far behind everyone else in training." Ryan replied. "Arme and Amy are already done, Elesis me and Ronan are getting there as well..." The group turned to look at Lass and Shuren. Shuren was gone and Lass was standing up to leave the room.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to find him, it's the first part of my training." Lass left the room.

"Find Shuren? He's really making it tough, isn't he." Eiau commented. "Up and at 'em Elesis, back to training." Elesis and Eiau left the room. Riallan, Ryan, Aria and Ronan all left the room behind them. Amy yawned.

"Now what?" She asked Arme. Arme shrugged.

"I don't know. If Sakura was here she could give us something to do."

"She's not." Amanda responded. "We were up later than I had wanted last night. I'm going back to bed." Amanda left the room. Urashin stood, bowed and left the room without a word.

"Anything for me to do?" Justin asked. "Everyone's found, now I'm bored."

"Oh yeah, Sakura had someone for you to look up. Elesis was the one who brought her up, go ask her." Justin smiled, pleased that he had more research to do. He left the room, almost beaming.

"And that leaves two." Amy said. She looked at Arme for a moment. "So what happened last night?"

"What?" Arme jumped. "What do you mean?" She said trying to hide her nervousness. She was fully aware that she was failing horribly.

"You wound up alone with Ronan, didn't you?"

"How did you know that?"

"Well, that was the plan."

"I thought that Lass and Lire's disappearance was abrupt. Who's plan was it?"

"Either Elesis, Lire or Sakura's. But I'm not going to tell you because you're clearly out for blood. Now tell me what happened."

"Why should I?"

"Because until you do, you'll get no peace."

"Whatever, leave me alone." Arme walked out of the room. Amy followed, literally stepping on her heels.

* * *

Eiau swung the sword around his body, smashing Elesis' spear and throwing her back again.

"Get up." He ordered, harshly. Elesis pushed herself to her feet. "You're getting better but it's not good enough." He put the sword down. "Use it." Elesis shoved her spear into the ground and walked forward to her father. She knelt and picked the sword up. It was easier than it was the last time, but she still had trouble holding the incredibly heavy sword. She couldn't hold it like Eiau could, and instead held it in both hands. She bent her knees and held the sword close to the ground, making a makeshift copy of Ryan's axe stance. "Interesting stance, but let's see if you can hit me with it.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"If you can't hurt me then you fail." Elesis lunged at him. Her lunge was slow because she had trouble swinging the sword and Eiau easily side-stepped the attack. Elesis shifted her foot slightly and swung the sword horizontally. Eiau jumped over the swing. "Good try, using a horizontal swing is easier when you can't hold you're weapon properly." Elesis panted, heavily, from just the two swings. "Your strength has increased but it's not good enough, not yet. Keep it up, hit me." Elesis tried to swing her sword over her arm, making a vertical swing at Eiau, who easily avoided it. Elesis dropped the sword, already to tired to lift it anymore. Eiau shook his head. "Your stamina is still to low."

"Sorry... I'll work on it."

"We're past that point, you need to find a way to fight properly with what you have." Eiau picked up his sword. "Take your spear, let's keep going." Elesis picked up her spear. Eiau swung his sword over his shoulder and took his stance again.

"Ugh..." Elesis groaned as the training continued.

* * *

A clang of metal rang through the grounds behind the shrine as Aria knocked Ronan over. She looked down at her brother and shook her head.

"Come on, Ronan! Just blocking the attack isn't enough, you need to be able to keep your balance and stance at the same time!" Ronan pushed himself to his feet and refitted the shield on his arm. Moving with the shield presented it's own challenge. Since Ronan was so used to swinging his non-dominant arm for magic, his instinct was to protect the arm and move it away from danger, the exact opposite of what he now had to do. Aria raised her sword again. "Now, remember. You won't be able to balance until you find the balance. You can't be expecting to stay up when you block an attack until you've countered the new weight of the shield by shifting the weight of your body. I understand how hard this is for you because of the way Grant and Father used to fight, but you just have to push through and find a way to do it. We're pinning all our hope on you guys and you just have to find a way." Ronan nodded. He agreed with his older sister completely. He shifted his feet trying to find a balance. It was proving far more difficult than it did when he first claimed the glaive, though he assumed that was because of Ryu's blood. He continued shifting his weight until he found something that he thought would work. Aria twisted her wrist in a strange way and held her blunt shortsword level with her head, pointing at Ronan. Her shield was held by her waist, ready to guard any attack at any moment. She had used this stance for most of Ronan's training, leaving him confused as to how such an odd and, seemingly, ineffectual stance had knocked him down so many times. Aria charged quickly, flipping her wrist and making a shallow but quick strike at Ronan who blocked it with his shield. She turned making three more shallow strikes which were repelled by Ronan's shield. Ronan had seen this pattern before. Her next technique would be to slide to the side and spin which would move her behind him giving her a shot at his back. Aria was skilled, but she only had so many patterns to use and Ronan was ready for it this time. Aria slid sideways and began to turn. Ronan spun himself holding his shield behind him, ready to block Aria's attack. The sword struck Ronan from behind and he flew forward onto the ground. Aria stepped on the back of his head, pushing his face into the dirt.

"You little idiot. Trying to memorize the way I move to make it easy? Give me a break, you'll never get that chance when facing your enemies. Did you honestly think I had so few forms and movements that you could ever memorize them?" She stepped of of Ronan's head and kicked his side. "Forget it, we're done for the day and you'd better not be so stupid tomorrow." With her harsh words said, she walked away from Ronan and into the shrine. Ronan pushed himself up after he was sure that Aria had left.

"Harsh." Ryan said coming around the shrine with Riallan. Riallan laughed.

"Harsh? That's her training him on a good day. And I think she's probably going easy on him since he's her little brother."

"You're kidding?" Ryan said amazed.

"Hell no he's not." Ronan forced out, clearly upset with himself. "I have to figure out how to do this..."

"Geez, I'm not supposed to do this but let me give you a hand." Riallan said helping Ronan to his feet. "Ryan's having some trouble with his training as well so he and I will try to help you out, hopefully it'll help him to." Riallan pulled the long scythe off his back and shoved it into Ryan's hands. Ryan took a stance opposite Ronan and held the scythe with the blade swung back over his shoulder. "OK Ryan, land a hit on Ronan." Ronan quickly picked up the shield, although he had no weapon to go with it. There was no possible way he would succesfully be able to use his glaive in this situation, so he resigned himself to a battle of defense. Ryan stepped forward and gracefully spun the scythe around his body. Ronan put his free hand on the back of the shield to reinforce the defense and help him hold the heavy sheet of steel. Ryan struck Ronan's shield hard with the scythe. Ronan staggered just slightly but kept his ground and guarded the attack. Ryan jumped back. Ronan tried to side-step as well as he could with the heavy shield.

"Stop!" Riallan yelled at the two. He walked up to Ryan who was panting heavily, Ronan was doing the same. "Are you kidding me, you two are already winded? What's going on Ryan, where's your strength?"

"What do you mean?"

"Punch me." Ryan put down the scythe and swung his fist at Riallan. Riallan caught Ryan's fist easily. "Come on, you're strong by this world's standards but not by ours, you're even having trouble holding my scythe which is a relatively light weapon. How did you beat Kaze'aze in the first place." Ronan was pretty annoyed at Riallan's comments and left the yard.

"I don't know, I haven't felt this weak for a long time." Riallan's head swung back and forth.

"Ridiculous, even if you didn't have much chance to practice for a couple of weeks your strength shouldn't have left you as much as it has."

"Fight me." Ronan said coming back onto the yard, carrying his glaive with one hand.

"And he couldn't hold a shield with both hands?" Riallan muttered to himself as he picked up the scythe. "Fine, what's the wager?"

"There has to be a wager?"

"I don't spar with people if there's not something in it for me."

"So what was in it for you when you attacked Eiau?"

"Entertainment." Ryan shook his head.

"Of course."

"Fine, if you win then just tell me what you want."

"WHEN I win, I will." Ronan put both hands on the shaft of his glaive and held it in front of him. Riallan smirked and held his scythe to his side with one arm, the blade positioned behind him. Ronan pushed off his feet, carrying his glaive much more easily than he had managed the shield alone. Riallan spun and caught Ronan's glaive with the scythe's blade. Ronan used his weapons weight advantage to push the scythe down. He swung around and buried his other fist into Riallan's stomach. Riallan staggered back from the hit. He immediately threw his open palm up.

"Stop!" He yelled at Ronan. Ronan stopped but kept his hand on his weapon. Riallan dropped his scythe. "Put the glaive down." Ronan obeyed. Riallan walked up and picked up Aria's shield with one hand. He lifted it up and down as if he was lifting weights then dropped it to the ground. He then walked over and grabbed the shaft of the glaive with both hands. Ryan and Ronan could tell that he was having trouble lifting it. The glaive never at any point left the ground. Riallan let go and fell backwards, his energy spent. "Ronan try to lift the shield." Ronan lifted the shield with some difficulty but got it up. "Ok then do what I just did with it."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Just humour me." Ronan held the shield with one hand and tried to move it up and down like Riallan had. He managed but did so much slower than Riallan was able to. "OK drop it and pick up the glaive."

Ronan dropped the shield and reached down to the glaive. He picked it up with one hand, having absolutely no difficulty, and swung it over his shoulder. "So what was the point of this?"

"You don't get it? I couldn't lift that glaive no matter what I tried. but you can do it with one hand. At the same time I'm stronger than you, that's clear from watching us lift the shield. Bring the Glaive with you, Ryan get the crescent blade, we need to talk to Urashin." Riallan wasn't joking around the way he normally would so Ryan knew that he should just listen. Ronan decided to follow Ryan's example and went with Riallan without saying anything, although he was visibly annoyed at the loss of the sparring that he hadn't been able to do in so long. Ryan met the two later along with Urashin.

"So what do you need?" Urashin asked, looking rather bored. Riallan explained the strange discrepancy in Ronan's strength. "Interesting... Ronan where did you get that weapon?"

"Partusay gave me and Lire weapons when he brought us underwater."

"Partusay brought you underwater and gave you these weapons?"

"Yes, he brought us down after the ship was destroyed. Arme, Ryan and Elesis were sent straight to shore while Amy and Lass were both already on Ellia before we got there."

"And what about Ryan's weapon?"

"Blacksmith in Orinig."

"Partusay said that he had sent weapons ahead for them." Ronan cut in.

"I see... if that's the case then... Ryan put your weapon on the table. Ryan placed his weapon on the table. "OK, now punch Riallan in the stomach. Riallan don't resist or brace yourself, just take the hit." Ryan and Riallan stood up.

"Why do your experiments always hurt me?" Riallan asked, annoyed.

"Just be quiet and take it you wimp." Ryan said. He held his fists up and lunged forward punching Riallan in the stomach. Riallan didn't move or even flinch, it looked as though he didn't feel it. Ryan shook his hand. "Damn that hurt, he told you not to brace."

"I didn't." Riallan said as he hit his own stomach. "This is as soft as I can get it."

"You're kidding." Ryan replied appalled at the thought that his strength had left that much.

"Calm down Ryan." Urashin stopped him. "Now pick up your weapon and try punching Riallan again."

"I don't know where you're going with this but OK." Ryan picked up the crescent blade and held it in his left hand. He swung back his right arm and punched Riallan. This time his hand didn't hurt. Riallan staggered back hit the wall and slumped to the ground.

"Owww..." He moaned. Urashin scratched his chin.

"Interesting... I've heard of this blessing but I didn't think anyone had magic strong enough to do it anymore. I had never even considered the deities."

"What are you talking about?" Ronan asked, getting impatient.

"I'll explain shortly, call everyone to our meeting room. If you can't find Shuren then don't worry about it, he'll still hear us. Ronan take the weapons to the room, Ryan and Riallan will collect everyone." Ronan picked up both the weapons and went with Urashin to the meeting room while Riallan and Ryna headed out to try to find everyone. The meeting didn't start for over an hour due to the fact that they now had over fifteen people to gather. Everyone was in attendance other than Shuren, although all of his old companions were sure that he was listening.

"As you all may have noticed, the training is not going particularly well." Urashin began. Everyone other than Amanda, Amy and Arme agreed. "Riallan brought something to my attention and I believe I have the answer. Ronan showed me his weapon, which Riallan could not lift despite proving that he was physically stronger. Also Ryan's strength seems to multiply as long as he's holding his weapon. These weapons were given to them by the deities of our world and I believe that they have an ancient blessing on them. This blessing essentially absorbs their power and magnifies it. This is why they lack strength when you try to have them use training weapons and why Ryan's strength made a dramatic jump when he picked up the weapon. All the weapons that are blessed work in a series and became unusable to someone who was not connected to one of them the moment they connected to our young heroes. In other words they can't unleash much of their strength or capabilities if they aren't connected to their weapons, but ever since they came here they're weapons have remained locked away in a room, and they're powers have been reduced due to the distance between their weapons and themselves."

"Stop Urashin!" Eiau almost yelled, "You're going to fast. And besides, even if that is true we're training them to increase their abilities through new styles, furthering their limits. How can we do that if they have to use these weapons?" A twinkle appeared in Urashin's eyes. Arme giggled a bit, it had been a long time since she had witnessed Urashin's passion for ancient magic.

"Ronan pick up your weapon." Ronan did as instructed. "OK, now this is merely a hypothesis based on what they told me before but... Aria touch the weapon as well." Aria stood and also touched Ronan's weapon. Nothing happened. Urashin scratched his chin. "Hmmm...? Interesting, I need more information. Everyone should just rest for now. With these weapons, training won't do much good. At least physical training won't, if you have something else to teach then go ahead but I would like to speak to each of the young heroes at some point today. Ryan and Ronan are done so Arme, meet me in my room, and collect your weapon before coming." Urashin stood and left the room, deep in thought.

"It's been to long since he was like that." Eiau commented. "Reminds me that we haven't really changed. Elesis, if what he said is true then you should rest for the day."

"Alright then, I will." Elesis and Eiau left the room.

"Move it Ryan, if I'm not training you with the weapon then I'm gonna teach you how to better your connection with nature. You'll lose your connection to the Nephilim at some point or another so I'm gonna make sure you can keep up your connection with nature afterwards. Come on." Riallan left the room. Ryan did a quick and informal wave to the others as he yawned and followed.

"Forget this, I'll do it later." Everyone's heads flipped around to see Shuren leading against the door frame. "I'll work on your senses later. Come on, there's some skills I need you to know, let's go." Without even acknowledging the others Lass and Shuren left the room at the ridiculous speed that the two were known for. Giving Ronan a sharp glare, Aria left the room. Ronan rubbed his arm.

"I'm tired, I'm gonna rest for the day." Ronan left the room as well. Arme followed shortly after heading towards the weapon room.

Yuria shook her head. "I thought your aim was really off... well we'll leave it for now unless there's something you want me to teach you."

"There's one thing if you don't mind?" Yuria motioned to the door and the two left." The only ones left in the room now were Amy and Amanda who just stared at each other, looking equally bored.

"Shall we sing?" Amanda asked. Amy nodded, excited at the prospect of finally being able to sing with her mother to some extent and the two stood and left the room.

* * *

This ending seemed really... for lack of a better word, incomplete, and after reading it myself, quite boring. I just wanted to get the actual importance of the weapons out (They'll serve another important purpose later when we approach 4th job). Well... I figured it's better to put it up since I'm still kinda burned out right now and who knows when I'll write the next part. Don't worry though it's coming, the next point I'm working towards is... well you'll see but it's only a few chapters away this time. As always review and have a nice day.


	35. strings snap

... read on. *Yawn*

Enjoy

* * *

Arme put her cauldron down on the table in Urashin's move and seated herself across from him. Urashin didn't say a word, he merely ran his hand across the cauldron and slowly examined every inch of the unadorned metal. After several minutes, he removed his hand from the cauldron and sat calmly.

"There are no marks or magical symbols on the weapon... I find myself greatly interested in how the blessing is actually carried out. I heard that you were the first to have your weapon change?" Arme nodded, relieved that he hadn't actually forgotten she was there. "I see, tell me exactly what happened.

"Time froze, and I found myself in a place that was completely white. Karina, the alchemist, appeared and told me that I was within my own mind, or at least a certain part of it. Then she spoke to me for a little while and gave me this necklace." Arme took off Karina's necklace and showed it to Urashin. He took it in his arms and ran his fingers across it, examining it very carefully. "After she gave me that, I was back into our world facing Elena, but my wand had become this cauldron."

"Interesting, there are experiments to do, hypotheses to check, and answers to find." Arme nodded and the two got to work.

* * *

"Come on Lire!" Yuria yelled to Lire as she fell over again. "I know that you're weakened because of the weapons but you can still learn this." Lire stood up, rubbing her shoulder. "Now watch again." Yuria grabbed a small piece of wood off of a pile next to her and threw it into the air. She moved forward quickly and twisted her body in an unreal way. Her hands hit the ground and she pushed off with her leg, hitting the piece of wood back into the air. She quickly spun her body around again reaching to her quiver and pulling out one of the enormous arrows she used with her bow. Holding the arrowhead between her index and middle finger she jumped and slashed at hte wood, which fell to the ground in two pieces. Yuria held out the large arrow to Lire.

"These aren't like your old arrows. They can be used as melee weapons in a tough situation. It's important that you learn this for the future, an archer can't depend on her bow all the time, when you come up against a certain enemy, you'll find yourself dead. That's how many of our ancestors lost their lives. For now work on the kick." Lire nodded as Yuria moved out of her way. Lire charged forward and attempted to copy Yuria's kick. As her leg went up, her arms buckled under the weight of her body and she fell down again. Yuria shook her head. "Do you know what you're doing wrong?" Lire shook her head.

"I'm not sure, I thought I was copying your movements properly."

"No, not at all. You're rushing the kick and pushing off to early. This destroys your balance and prevents your ability to make the kick properly. Now try to follow me." Yuria stood next to Lire and ran her through the process for making the kick again.

"So, I have to tuck my arms in farther so that they can hold my weight, and then I have to use my legs to push as far into the kick as I can so that my arms don't get any unnecessary strain." Lire repeated the factors that Yuria had just explained to her. "Alright." Lire tried the kick again. She pushed her arms as far under her body as possible before pushing off with her legs. She got her leg up higher than she had before, but her arms still buckled under her weight and she collapsed on the ground. Lire stood up as quickly as she could and brushed herself off before trying again. Yuria shook her head.

"This could take awhile." She muttered, less than enthusiastically.

* * *

"Focus, feel the energy flowing through your body."

"What, energy."

"Everyone has an inherent type of energy flowing through their body, from this point forward I'll be referring to it as chakra. most people can't access it. I am one of the few who can access this energy and so are you."

"How do you know that?"

"Have you forgotten already, there's very little about you that I haven't already determined, now be quiet and listen."

"Fine, I'm listening."

"Chakra comes in many forms, but essentially it's an energy flowing through your body that determines your abilities. Chakra is everything, Those with large amounts of a certain type of chakra may have the ability to manipulate outside energy like Ronan and Arme while people like Amy have a different type which could strengthen their legs, giving them a high level of speed."

"So then, what's my chakra?"

"You're special. Like me you have a well balanced form of chakra. Only people with a properly balanced level of the seven chakras can control them. The man who originally discovered chakra was a man named Evan. He created his own sword style based around the release and control of chakra outside ones body. This style is powerful and few have ever mastered it, those who have are known as Evan Stripers."

"What? are you going to teach me to use this style."

"I can't, my attempt at becoming an Evan Striper failed miserably. I'm going to teach you how to manipulate the chakra within your body. By controlling the flow of chakra within one's body they can create many effects upon themselves. At this, I was also a failure. I only mastered one form and that was the form of invisibility. The style of fighting you're going to learn relies heavily on hitting your opponent's vital points. You'll learn to turn claws into an extension of your body and to eliminate your presence until the enemy is dead. Remember, if the enemy isn't dead after the first hit, then you'll be facing a tough fight."

"You're not as tough as you act are you. You fight like a coward."

"I'll tell you this. A coward like me will live a lot longer than someone who acts like a hero."

"I don't disagree."

"Good, then let's begin. Close your eyes." Lass obeyed. "Look into yourself and find your chakra flow. Find it, and know it. See the way your chakra moves and know where each type is at any given time." Lass sat still for several minutes with his eyes closed, searching himself.

"I think I can see it."

"You can see it, or you know it? It took me 4 days of meditation before I was ready to move to the next step." The two sat there for a good expanse of time. After several hours had passed, Lass opened his eyes.

"I know it. I can still feel the chakra as it flows through me, and I can distinguish them now. They're like a part of me."

"Impossible, that was only a few hours. Unless you're some kind of prodigy then there's just no way."

"No, it was familiar. I think I've always felt the chakra but until now I couldn't tell what it was and I never took the time to stop and determine it."

"You, felt this before. Impossible, the only person who ever felt chakra before he was aware of it's existence was Evan."

"Well, now there's two. So, are you supposed to teach me how to control the flow or something?" Shuren was visibly annoyed at Lass, but he continued all the same.

"The seven chakra you can see should be in seven different colors. Each chakra represents one of the seven elements. Red is fire, blue is water, green is nature, brown is earth, yellow is wind, white is light, and black is darkness. Everything that exists is a combination of these seven elements in some way and every person has strong elements to them. For example, Ryan has strong nature chakra which creates his connection to the land as well as fire chakra which forms his high strength however his water chakra and dark chakra are weak. That's why we, as people who have a perfect balance of the seven, are the people who can control them properly. We can control all seven chakras equally and, theoretically, we could create anything we wanted if we learned perfect control of chakra. At any rate, a line of chakra is known as a chakra stream. Now tap into the wind chakra stream. After you have you need to control the chakra flow so that it moves to where you need it. You need to guide two types of chakra to the centre of your body. Control the wind and light chakras and form them into a continual loop." Lass sat perfectly still, with his eyes closed and controlled the chakra within his body. After about twenty minutes, he opened his eyes again.

"Alright, what's next?"

"Now spread the chakra. Don't let it break it's loop but extend it throughout your entire body so that the chakra is in a tight path. This path should cover your entire body as opposed to it's original path." Lass nodded and closed his eyes again. This seemed to be a more difficult task, as he spent several hours on it. He opened his eyes again.

"Ok... what's. next." His voice was strained.

"Calm down kid, we'll continue tomorrow. Controlling chakra is a tiring activity."

"Alright then. I'm tired so... continuing tomorrow is probably a good idea. Can I ask something?"

"Go for it."

"Alright. When Rose gave me the scimitar I immediately had an immense jump in my speed and abilities. If I have balanced chakra then why would my speed be at such a higher level than the others?"

"You received knowledge from this Rose woman correct? It's likely that she, like most assassins, had strong wind chakra and the knowledge given by her taught you to tap into your wind chakra and use it. Her abilities were probably stronger than what you could use after accepting the weapon. We may have balanced chakra but depending on what we're trying to do we'll call them at different levels. The only real difference between us and the average person is our versatility."

"I see, so then the chakra determine a person's strengths, is there anything else they do?"

"Yes. Chakra could be described as what some have taken to calling the soul. The chakra also determine personality. Red is fire, a chakra of strength and aggresion. Fire is a force that destroys all in it's path without fail As someone's fire chakra grows stronger, their physical strength's will raise and their personality will reflect their anger and arrogance. This chakra is particularly notable within Elesis. Water is a chakra of serenity and change. Water is always moving and always changing. Whether a calm lake or a raging river, water will always be changing itself to accomadate what's around it, what enters it. It takes everything in turn but keeps moving. Someone's ability to change their thoughts and actions to their situation and find the solution is stronger in someone with strong water chakra. Water chakra is also necessary to create a calm enough mind to cast magic. Ronan is a particularly good example of someone with exceptional water chakra. Wind is a chakra of speed and adaptability. Those with strong wind chakra will be able to hold to their convictions longer than others. When someone argues with them, they'll just brush it off and move past it. The stronger someone's wind chakra, the more skilled they are at moving past their opponent's regardless of the opposition. Wind chakra also determines a person's speed and abillities, someone with strong enough wind chakra would practically be able to fly with their speed and jumping abilities. Amy is an excellent example of someone with strong wind chakra. Shall I continue or have you had enough?"

"No, I find this quite interesting. Please go on I want to hear the rest of the chakras." Shuren nodded and continued his lecture.

"Earth is an unmoving and sturdy chakra. Stronger earth chakra means that they will be unmoving in their conviction and stance. Someone with strong earth chakra is a fighter who can take on the enemy with the same form every time and always succeed. Earth chakra also determines someone's stamina and physical constitution. Strong earth chakra means a bigger frame and larger muscle mass. People strong with earth chakra are harder to find than others, my best example would be Eiau. Light and Darkness are special, they're two sides of the same coin and have to constantly keep themselves in balance. Someone with strong light chakra has less dark chakra and vice-versa. Light is the chakra of honour, and darkness is the chakra of deceit. People with to much light will always try to follow the rules of a fight and will always try to fight with honour. Those with darkness win more than they lose because of this blaring weakness of light. Keeping the two as balanced as possible is the way to make someone the strongest. As we are perfectly balanced, we know when we need to uphold our honour and when we need to fight, for lack of a better word, dirty. Someone with dark chakra that has risen to a dangerous level become like Kaze'aze and Faren, while people with an excess of light chakra will become like Aria."

"So light and darkness are special and determine someone's affinity towards good and evil?"

"In Layman's terms yes, but it's not quite so black and white. It would take some time to explain everything though, so we'll leave them at that."

"Alright, there's one more right."

"Nature is also special. Nature is the chakra of growth and life. The stronger your nature chakra, the longer your life and the greater your ability to grow. Strong nature chakra also means that you will never stop growing, you will always be able to grow stronger and it will be very difficult to reach your limit. Nature chakra is prevalent in elves far more than humans, hence the reason that elves live twice as long as us on average. Of course, for examples of this we have Lire, Ryan, Yuria and Riallan. Do you understand everything I just said?" Lass nodded.

"Yeah, I got it. Chakra is everything, but few people know about it, essentially."

"Yes and no. Remember not to tell anyone else about chakra, it just makes thing difficult on them."

"What do you mean?"

"Arme, for example, knows about the strength of mana. Her chakra is what allows mana to flow properly and mana is chakra itself. She knows mana, trying to break it down further into chakra will confuse her and add more weight to her mind than necessary. She would no longer be able to focus well enough to cast at her highest power. In this sense, while mana is chakra, at the same time, it is not."

"I see, that makes some sense. Is there anything above it, stronger than chakra?"

"Yes, Aether."

"What's Aether."

"Aether is like the most concentrated form of chakra. It is divided into elements and is the true strength of creation. Chakra can mold the world around us and create effects or objects that normally could be. Aether can create from nothing. Aether is a special force, usable only by the gods and deity's. We, as humans and elves, will never gain the right to use so powerful a force."

"Unbelievable... can I ask one more thing."

"Make it quick."

"How did you learn all this?"

"My father taught me this, he was the final Evan Striper. It's impossible to become an Evan Striper now because I was a failure, and my father couldn't pass the style along. Now... they don't exist anymore." Shuren spoke almost apologetically as he said this.

"I see, thanks for answering all my questions."

"Don't worry about it kid. I'm going to teach you invisibility tomorrow, so make sure you can still feel your chakra." Shuren, looking tired and upset, disappeared and left the room.

* * *

Lire walked, or rather, limped, down the hall rubbing her arm. Sakura walked next to her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sakura asked concerned.

"I'm fine, I don't need help walking." Lire said as she shoved her away.

"OK, OK fine." Sakura yawned.

"What were you doing anyway?"

"Training in ways that I never thought I would." Lire groaned as she rubbed her neck. "And now I'm just sore."

"Of course you are." Sakura pushed the door open. She and Lire stepped outside to get some air. Lass was sitting just to the side of the door with his eyes closed. "You OK Lass?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He responded without opening his eye.

"You just seem kind of out of it and you missed dinner."

"Oh, you guys already ate? Sorry, I'm trying to keep myself ready for tomorrow's training. I think I should be OK now, is there anything left."

"Yeah, that's why we came to find you."

"We?" Lass opened his eyes. His face drooped slightly at the sight of Lire. "Oh, hello." Lire weakly waved her hand.

"Um, hi." The two stared at each other awkwardly. Sakura stepped in between them.

"Go eat Lass." Lass shook his head back and forth to break himself from his daze and went back into the house.

He turned and looked at Lire again. "Sorry." He said as he entered the house. Sakura stared at Lire.

"What?"

"Something happened and you never told me."

"Nothing happened."

"Liar."

"Think whatever you want." Lire calmly limped back into the house. Sakura crossed her arms and glared at her back before following her.

* * *

"Hey Ronan!" Justin called as he approached him. "You know this woman?" Justin set his laptop on the table and turned it to Ronan. His eyes grew wide in a second.

"My mother?"

"Seriously...? A japanese woman who disappeared about thirty years ago... I'm gonna look more into this, if I can get more info on where she was when she disappeared then we may find a way to get you guys back yet." Justin stood and headed towards the door.

"Justin...?"

"Look Ronan, just because Aria's here doesn't mean your mother's alive alright. She moved worlds, she's not immune to death. Alright?" Ronan looked down.

"Yeah, I know... thanks though. I don't think knowing that my mom's from this world is a bad thing."

"Knowing about your parents can only be considered a good thing, I guess. I suck at this kind of thing, go find someone else if you want a heart to heart."

"I'm fine, thanks. We're all doing our best, so thanks for always doing yours to help us." Justin grinned and nodded before leaving the room. Ronan rubbed his head and sighed.

* * *

"Try this on." Amy shoved something into Arme's arms as she entered the room.

"What's this?"

"A dress."

"Obviously. Where did it come from?"

"My birth father collected a lot of things from around the world, we're just going through it." Sakura answered as she opened a large box.

"So why are you going through it all now?"

"Because we can't train, for the most part, and we're all bored." Elesis answered as she and Lire dug through another box.

"This is cute!" Amy exclaimed as she pulled a soft pink evening gown out of her box. There was a slit up the side which looked as though it would reach about halfway up Amy's leg. "I'm gonna try this on. Come on Arme, let's change."

"I don't want to." Arme refused and resisted, but Amy was much stronger and easily dragged Arme out of the room with her. She dragged her to the next room over and started changing. Arme blushed and turned her back on Amy.

"Don't you have any shame?"

"What's the problem? We saw each other when we were putting on the yukatas before."

"I didn't look."

"You're just to innocent."

"And you should be more innocent, I'm older than you, you know." Amy stuck her tounge out at Arme.

"Whatever, come on, put the dress on." Arme sighed and looked at the dress in her hands. It was a deep violet and was clearly for shorter people than Arme, as it looked like it would just reach her knees.

"Turn around." Amy shrugged and turned around so Arme could change. "Alright done."

"Wow, that looks perfect on you." Amy praised Arme. Arme looked down at herself. The dark violet colour suited her perfectly and the pleated skirt which reached just slightly past her knees looked good.

"I don't know..." Arme's thought trailed off. She felt uncomfortable playing dress up while they should be training or looking for a way back to their world.

"Just take my word for it. Come on, everyone else'll say the same." Amy grabbed Arme's hand and dragged her back to the girl's room. "Sorry, we took so long, Arme wouldn't cooperate. Oh, you guys look cute." While the two were gone the others had all changed into some outfit or other. Sakura had on a normal maid's uniform while Lire wore a yellow china dress and Elesis wore a large white gown complete with wedding veil.

"Why am I wearing this again?" Elesis asked.

"Oh come on, you look great." Sakura told her. "I can't believe you two got me into this though."

"Why, what's wrong with it? All of Ronan's maids looked great, the dresses are cute."

"I like this one, where did it come from?" Lire asked.

"I think that one probably came from China. The slit in the side usually goes up farther, well to he best of my knowledge at least." Lire looked down at the slit in the side of her dress which only reached her knee. "Depending on what it's used for, it can go from your knee all the up to your hips."

"Up to here?" Lire asked, surprised, with her hand on her hip.

"Yeah, you have to be careful when you where one that revealing, not that I'm an expert in Chinese clothing or anything."

"Seriously, why did you guys decide to have me put this one on?" Elesis asked again.

"Arme, you look perfect in that." Sakura exclaimed, completely ignoring Elesis.

"You do look good." Lire commented.

"Doesn't she?" Amy responded happily as she dragged Arme over to the other girls.

"Why?" Arme asked quietly.

"What was that?"

"Why are we playing dress-up right now?" Arme screamed. "Master Urashin is at the end of his rope trying to figure out how to make us strong enough to fight Faren and Justin is working hard to figure out how to get us back. Lass, Ronan and Ryan are still training what they can even though it's difficult so why are we doing this? I can't believe you girls." Everyone stared at Arme surprised at the, usually collected although somewhat immature, mage's outburst.

"Arme..." Lire trailed off, unable to find the words to diffuse the situation like she always did.

"You think we're just playing around for the hell of it?" Elesis raised her voice to match Arme's. Lire's thoughts immediately wandered to what had happened at the orc temple. She remembered that the argument had been helpful at the time but she couldn't see any advantage to it at this point.

"Elesis, Arme, stop." Lire cut the two off, trying to stop them.

"Just stop Lire!" Elesis yelled at her. "Ever since we first met you've always been this calm collected girl who acts like your better than us whenever we don't act perfectly! Well stop it! Don't get in between us when all you ever do is stand to the side and jump in when it's convenient! I'm so sick of that attitude!" Everyone stared at Elesis as she finished her spiel. Everyone except Lire. Lire stared at the ground, Amy noticed that her hands were trembling. Lire jumped at Elesis tackling her to the ground. Elesis landed on her back and Lire straddled her. Lire pushed Elesis' shoulders down, preventing her from getting up.

"Just shut up!" Lire yelled at Elesis. "This has been my role since the beginning. It had to be me since you and Arme were so damn immature that I had to stay out and keep my calm no matter what, otherwise the three of us would never have gotten anywhere! I'm not some perfect girl who can take everything you throw! There was time after time when I wanted to scream at you two, but I didn't because as soon as I did we'd fall apart!" Elesis rolled throwing Lire under her and shoved her arms down.

"There you go again, thinking your better than me!"

"Stop it Elesis!" Arme yelled, finally rejoining the conversation. "Leave Lire alone, she's right. If she hadn't always been there to have a cool head and guide the two of us, then we probably would have died back in the tower, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere. I always knew that, but I... I tried to help but I always fell back into myself and..."

"That's enough Arme!" Lire yelled as she pushed Elesis off and stood up. "You're no better than Elesis. You realized what was happening and you just let it go on? What the hell is wrong with you? I always had to keep my head, then suddenly you get giggly over Ronan while Elesis gets so overly serious that she can't even see the road in front of her... I had no chance to actually let anything out. I just can't... I can't take it, I can't take you two anymore. I've had enough!" Lire grabbed the sun dress she had been wearing in this world and ran out of the room. Elesis shot a glance at Arme, collected her clothes and left as well.

"I'm sorry." Arme muttered.

"What was that?" Sakura asked in complete shock.

"I heard that those three were the first to start this quest." Amy answered. "It wasn't long before Ronan and Ryan joined up with them, but even so... I guess they went through a lot before I joined up, even though it wasn't all that long."

"How long between when they started and when you joined?"

"A couple of weeks, I guess, three max. I never would have expected that these three resented each other that much."

"I don't think that's it at all, they're all stressed and old feeling were forced up. Honestly, you guys have gone through a lot more than most people I know your age. I don't understand you guys at all... but I can guess at how much stress you're all under... even you, though you seem rather calm."

"I'm fine, I fought with general Kirion back on Xenia. Xenia is dangerous, you never know what kind of super-powerful enemy will jump out at you. I'm good at dealing with the stress and keeping my bubbly attitude to keep the people around me calm, but right now it seems like it'll do more harm than good." Amy walked over and sat next to Arme.

"What do you want?"

"Are you ok? They said some pretty harsh things but I don't think they mean it."

"No, they did and Lire's right. Me and Elesis have been nothing but a burden from day one. We could fight but... beyond that we were just a problem. When we went to Kanavan, I had to follow Lire or I would have lost my way. I was so scared when we washed up on Ellia without Lire or Ronan, the only reason we got through there was because I knew Mr. Lirios and he helped us. Lire was the one who figured out how to save Lass and pushed us to do what we had to do to save him. Sorry Amy, just leave me alone for awhile." Arme collected her clothes and left the room.

"She seems pretty down." Sakura commented.

"Yeah, I'm amazed they didn't come after me... I hope those three can fix this up. I don't think that I'll be of much help to them this time."

* * *

"Whoa, Elesis, calm down!" Ryan yelled as he tried to avoid her spear. He spun and struck the shaft of her spear with his crescent blade. He placed his hand on the ground and shot his leg out towards he stomach. Elesis staggered backwards and used her spear to balance herself. Without any serious thought she charged forward again. Ryan blocked the stab and swung himself around Elesis, grabbing her arms and forcing her to drop the spear. "Sorry, my win again."

"Ugh, why can't I win."

"Because your pissed off and not thinking clearly, you're not beating me in that state and you know it."

"Yeah, I know. Now let me go." Ryan let go of Elesis' wrists and sat down.

"So what happened that's got you so angry?" Elesis explained what had happened and what everyone had said. "Wow, you guys said all of that?"

"Yeah, I can't believe Lire. Always acting like she's so much better than me. Acting like we would all be dead without her."

"We would." Elesis shot a surprised look at Ryan. "Well, think about it. We can fight but what use are we beyond that? Ronan and Lire took care of everything else. Ronan and Grant made the plan to beat Gaikoz, Lire figured out how to save Lass. Ronan was the one who had Emil help us and kept the seals safe. Honestly, what use are we?"

"How can you say that."

"Because I look at things as they are. We all have problems that stop us from being good with things like that. Arme takes everything to personally and tends to over-analyze a lot of stuff, Amy's ditzy and likes to act immature and I knew nothing about the world outside of the forest. Lire and Ronan both have cool heads and know what needs to be done. Frankly we wouldn't have gotten anywhere without them but you can reverse it to, I wonder just how far Lire and Ronan would have gotten on their own. We may not be that great with maps, or money or keeping our possessions safe, but we aren't weak and we can always change and become better at what we're bad at."

"Change? What do you mean, how should I change?"

"All depends on the person. I started changing as soon as I left the forest. The more I learn about the outside world the more useful I'll become... it'll just take time."

"Then how do you suggest I change so that I become less useless?"

"Whoa, I never called you useless. But how to change and become better at what you're bad at. Well, I won't tell you, that's for you to figure out. If I just told you what was stopping you then you wouldn't be able to break it fully, ever. And don't forget, just because you're bad at something, you're good at other things. There are things you can do that Ronan and Lire can't, that's why we make a good team. Our strengths overshadow each others weaknesses, that's why we've made it so far. At any rate, I think you should apologize to Lire."

"No, I won't. Not yet. If I apologize now, it'll just be like I'm making the apology for the sake of apologizing. I'll apologize after I figure out how to be more useful, that way, she'll know I mean it."

"You think pretty deeply on some surprising subjects."

"It's how my mother raised me. Don't tell anyone we talked about this, ok?"

"Your secret's safe with me."

* * *

"What are you doing in here?" Ronan asked Lire.

"Avoiding Elesis and Arme."

"What happened?" Lass asked, coming out from behind Ronan. "Was it really necessary to hide in our room?"

"When did you get behind me?" Ronan asked, surprised.

"Ages ago." Lass turned to Lire. "Back to you. What happened?" Lire narrowed her eyes at Lass. "Yeah yeah, I get that it's uncomfortable talking to me so I'll just lie over here and you can talk to Ronan." Lass walked over and dropped onto one of the futons.

"Lass that's Ryan's bed." Lass rolled over.

"She's laying on mine."

"Ugh, fine. So what did happen?" Lire explained to Ronan what had happened. "Geez, what happened with you three? I can't believe you guys said that stuff."

"It was just what Elesis said that made me snap."

"Elesis always says stuff like that, always. And she always feels bad afterwards. Be honest, how far would we have made it without Elesis or Arme. They were the first accepted by the heroes, I'd say that they're the strongest of us."

"I don't care! I've had to keep myself calm and collected no matter how much I've wanted to get angry and I'm sick of it. I'm not so great a person! I get mad and sad like anyone else but those two, from day one, made me feel like I couldn't show it. I felt like I had to be perfect and I hated it!"

"Calm down, It's not me you're mad at."

"You're the only one to blame you know." Both of them turned and looked at Lass who had rolled over again and was staring at them. "It's your fault for not expressing yourself when you wanted to."

"Weren't you listening, the way those two acted made me feel lik-"

"I heard you, dammit! And frankly, you're choice was just plain stupid. You're a smart person Lire, I know that, the fact that you chose to hold yourself back makes you one of the dumbest people I know. That's not to say that Elesis should have said what she said, but you need to apologize to both of them either way."

"I thought you were going to stay out of it."

"I'm not going to stay out of it. After hearing something like that I have to step in."

"Sorry Lire, I agree with Lass on this one. It was your fault that you held all this back for so long. If you hadn't then you probably would have been able to diffuse the situation earlier rather than making it worse. You do need to apologize to them."

"Forget it, I refuse. None of this was my fault."

"Geez, Lire. I've never seen such and immature side to you."

"Well excuse me. This is the real me. When I first met Arme and Elesis I realize that I had to hide it and keep the two on track so I've been doing so." Ronan shook his head.

"Lire..."

"Fool." They both looked at Lass again. "It's possible to be yourself without having the entire team break down. Just show us more of it from now on. I'd prefer to know the real you than this image of perfection you put out."

"Geez, Lass. When did you get so wise?" Ronan asked, jokingly.

"Let me... think about it. Can I sleep in here tonight?" Ronan scratched his head.

"I guess... I'll ask Sakura if we can get another one of these futons."

"Thanks, and don't tell the other girls I'm in here... it's already getting late so I'm just going to sleep."

"Yeah, alright. Sleep on it, just think about what we said, ok?" Lire nodded and laid down. Lass stood up from Ryan's bed.

"She can have mine so let's go and get another." Ronan and Lass left the room to find Sakura.

"What was all that?" Ronan asked. "I've never seen you act so concerned about anyone before. Normally you'd just ignore it and sleep."

"I fell in love with Lire." Ronan stared at Lass.

"Geez, how blunt can you be."

"What's the point in hiding it."

"Well, yeah I guess. It all depends on how you think about it."

"Exactly. Now I'm tired, let's find Sakura."

* * *

Elesis entered the girl's room but the only one there was Amy. She had changed out of the dress and packed everything up, leaving it in the corner.

"Hey." She greeted Elesis.

"Where are the others?"

"Arme's staying in Sakura's room tonight and I haven't seen Lire since the fight."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah, let's go to sleep. I'm sure everything will be better in the morning."

"Yeah, thanks Amy." Amy smiled and layed down on her futon. "Everything should be better by morning... Man I feel terrible." Elesis muttered to herself as she layed down on her own futon.

* * *

That's that. Hoping to get the next chapter out quickly but this time I'm running lights for the play which means very little free time starting tomorrow until mid-March. I also decided that I'll definitely be writing a sequel to this story... when I do finally get to it. It'll be coming out at the same speed as this story though. But I promise, the next chapter will be the last of the chapters on earth. I really do have high hopes for the sequel. Well review and have a nice day.


	36. Lass' trial

Wow I already broke that promise. Sorry I was planning to make this chapter the last earth chapter but I have to change that to the next chapter because Lass' part in this story wound up going in an entirely different direction than my original intention (It's much better the way I did it though) So I had to split it up, the next chapter will be the last chapter on earth... and this time I'm not promising because something's gonna run long again... just you wait it'll happen.

* * *

Anyways enjoy.

Elesis rubbed her shoulder as she sat up on her futon. She glanced around the room, Lire and Arme were still gone.

"Morning." Amy greeted her as she sat up. "They aren't back yet, huh?" Elesis shook her head. "Well, don't worry. You'll get your chance to talk to them, they can't avoid you forever." Elesis nodded sadly, she still felt bad about what had happened earlier. "Let's go get something to eat, come on." Amy dragged Elesis out of the room, desperately looking for a way to cheer her up. Just as they left the room Ronan left the boys room.

"Morning." He greeted them.

"Oh, it's Ronan. Come on Elesis make fun of him or something." Elesis sighed.

"Good Morning." She said as she walked past him and continued down the hall. Ronan stared after her, surprised.

"Does this have anything to do with the fight yesterday?"

"You know about that, huh?"

"Lire told me." Amy's ears perked up.

"Do you know where she is? I think that Elesis will be better if we get them talking, the two that really need to talk here are Elesis and Lire. Arme was more of a casualty than anything else."

"I know where Lire's hiding, but I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Come on, we should help them out right now."

"Sorry, Amy. But Lire needs time to herself, it's not our place to fix this one."

"I know that, but I just can't stand to watch them fight like this."

"Just let it go, Amy. Let's get some breakfast." Amy sighed.

"Yeah, alright."

* * *

Arme sat up on the futon that Sakura had laid out on her bedroom floor. She yawned and stretched.

"Good morning, Arme."

"Morning Sakura."

"Feeling better this morning?"

"A little bit. Thanks for letting me stay here last night."

"Don't worry about it, but you really should go and make up with Elesis and Lire."

"I know but... frankly, I'm scared to talk to them right now."

"Fair enough. you said some things and started it but Elesis and Lire were the ones who were on the attack. Well, when you feel like you can talk to them then you should, but don't push yourself." Arme hugged Sakura.

"Thanks."

"Why do I feel like the big sister here, aren't you older than me?"

"Who cares."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm glad I met you guys, it's been... interesting." Arme giggled at that.

"Interesting? Haha, Yeah I guess."

"Hungry?" Arme nodded. "Me to, let's get breakfast."

* * *

Ryan woke up later than usual. He sat up and yawned.

"Ugh, not enough sleep last night." He muttered to himself sullenly. "Morning Lire."

"Morning." She said as she sat up. Ryan stopped suddenly and looked back at Lire.

"Why're you here?"

"I slept here."

"Well clearly, why?"

"You didn't notice when you came in last night."

"It was dark, Elesis kept me up pretty late."

"Elesis? What were you guys doing?"

"She was letting off steam by sparring with me. Though she couldn't touch me, she needs to learn to have a calm mind."

"So she was still angry."

"She was still pretty mad."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah I heard about your little fight. Now that I think about it, that's probably why you're sleeping here, isn't it?" Lire nodded. "Well fair enough. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Elesis."

"And what's that."

"There's something wrong with everyone and that's why we're a team. We cover each other's weaknesses and pointing out another person's weaknesses is one of the worst things you can do. We get that Elesis and Arme and I aren't particularly good with money, you don't have to point it out and then go on about how you thought you had to act perfectly. That's your problem, not ours."

"What do you mean it's my problem?"

"You're the one who somehow got the delusion that you had to be perfect for us. Did you think we couldn't get by if you weren't, honestly. You're biggest problem is that you always underestimate our ability to get through something without guidance. We're not children, we can get through our problems just fine."

"Funny, Ronan and Lass said the same thing."

"Well think about it. If three people, including an idiot like me, tell you this then what does that mean?" Lire hung her head.

"The fight was my fault, wasn't it? I've acted a certain way since the beginning and if I hadn't then the fight wouldn't have escalated and I would have been able to stop it. You can say some pretty good things sometimes, it at least gave me more to thin about."

"Oh, really? Well I hope it helped cause I made all that up on the spot. I'm gonna go see if someone made breakfast." Ryan threw on his shirt and left the room. Lire stared at him shocked.

"You guys are such a pain sometimes." She muttered

* * *

"OK Lass, listen up. I'm going to teach you how to turn invisible." Lass nodded. He had gotten up very early and snuck out of the room in order to meet Shuren. "The chakra we use for invisibility is light, the wind is for the speed that will be necessary to using the claws."

"Alright, I get it. teach me to use the chakra."

"It's not something to be taught. It's something for you to learn."

"What the hell does that mean."

"Simple, you're going to search yourself. In doing so you'll find your way to use your chakra. Understand that every person's way of tapping and using chakra is different, all I did yesterday was set up the ability to use my techniques, it's your job to learn them. The reason I'm here is to watch you, and ensure that you don't die while you're trying to get this done."

"I see, so I have to find the truth within myself and learn my own, personal, way of using my powers?"

"You're making it more poetic than it is but yes, essentially."

"Alright then, I'll do it. I'll get this done."

"Good luck. I went in and only came out when I was about to die. It took me six trips to finish this step... it's not easy. All we can do is hope that you really are a prodigy and finish this quickly, though I don't have my hopes up. Each persons mind is different and the trials to find your abilities are different. I have no doubt that your mysterious and still incomplete mind will prove quite a barrier."

"Well we don't have time for that, I have to push ahead and finish this."

"Good luck. Now, I'm going to show you how to shut off your body and do a full retreat into your mind." Shuren displayed a breathing technique and then showed Lass the proper form to shut down his body so he could retreat into his mind. "Take your time, this step is not meant to be simple."

"Alright, watch. I'll be back in no time." Lass closed his eyes and followed the technique that Shuren had showed him. It took him over an hour before it took effect and his body fell limp.

"And now we wait. Good luck kid, you're gonna need it."

* * *

Lass opened his eyes. He was in a new area. It wasn't like the time that rose had called him to her mind. She had resided in an empty part of his mind, but now he was in the centre. It was a dark area, surrounded by what looked like portals. They were in a circle around the dark area. Looking through one, he saw an empty white area.

"_The Empty part of my mind?_" He thought to himself. _"So where will I discover the secret of my chakra?"_ He continued searching around the centre of his mind, looking through the various portals. He realized that it wasn't doing him any good and he finally decided to move on to one of the parts of his mind. He stopped in front of a portal that had a large city in it. "As g_ood a place to start as any, I guess._" He stepped through into the portal.

He appeared in the centre of a large city. Looking around he saw little of note, just people moving along with their busy lives. he saw a blacksmith, a tailor, an inn, and a pub.

"Welcome."

"Who's there?"

"It's you, of course. Who else would be in here?"

"Me? what the hell does that mean."

A boy who looked exactly like Lass appeared in front of him.

"I'm you, and this is your mind."

"Well, of course, that's where I was trying to get to. So what's going on here?"

"You're trying to find your way of activating chakra, right?"

"Of course, if you're me then you should know this." The other Lass laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyways you'll have to search for it, I have no clue where you'd learn that either, but it's somewhere in here. And I'm here to guide you through the various parts of your mind."

"Alright then, if that's the case then where am I right now?"

"This is your locked memories."

"Locked memories?"

"Right, everyone has them though most people can't remember them, that's why we call them locked. This is where most memories from your first two or so years go. Everything you saw or knew before you started getting any accessible memory is here."

"So this is what I remember?"

"Well, somewhat, but not quite. It's not exactly as you saw it. It's more... we're watching what happened around you as created and projected by your sub-conscious mind."

"So, it's what my mind thought was happening around me at the time?"

"The sub-conscious mind is an incredibly powerful tool, isn't it?"

"So then, where's this?"

"Who knows." The other Lass shrugged his shoulder. "But if you ask me, she should be our focus." The other Lass pointed at a cloaked woman walking down the street with a bundled cloth in her hands.

"Is that... my mother?"

"Could be, shall we find out." Both Lasses followed the woman. "Don't worry about getting close, she can't see us and we can't interact with her." Lass nodded and approached the woman. He saw that there was a sleeping child within the cloth.

"That must be me."

"Seems that way... this is interesting, I've never seen this particular memory before." The woman stopped, looked back and forth and laid the baby on the ground.

"I'm sorry." She whispered before she ran away.

"What? My mother..." The city began to distort around him. "What's happening now?"

"The memory's changing." The large cityscape switched to a back alley in the same city.

"What's this now?"

"Good question, it's another I haven't seen. I'd say we're on the same day as the last memory though. Hey someone's coming." Two men, or rather, a man and a boy, approached the baby on the ground. "Hey doesn't the big guy look familiar?" Lass looked carefully at the man approaching the baby.

"That's Shuren! Well a younger Shuren, but that's Shuren."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"How old is Shuren then?"

"Shur?" The small kid with silver hair asked as he pulled on Shuren's sleeve. "What's going on."

"He did it again Vense. Dammit. We're... taking this guy with us, OK?" Vense nodded, clearly confused. Shuren picked up the baby. "Let's go." Vense nodded again and the two left with the baby Lass.

"What the hell?" The other Lass scratched his head.

"Hm, memories that even I haven't seen?" The alley distorted again. "Oh, what's next?" The alleyway switched to the exterior of a small, run down shelter. They were still in the back alleys of the city and the structure barely looked livable.

"What the hell is this?"

"We can find out if we just go inside."

"Yeah, Alright." The two Lasses entered the house. Inside was Vense, Shuren and a very young Lass. "Why don't I remember any of this?"

"It must have been sealed away for some reason or other. But it seems that you were raised by Shuren and Vense on the streets of Hirion."

"Seems that way... but why didn't Shuren tell me this earlier?" The other Lass shook his head, lacking the answer. "Hey, is there some order as to how these memories appear?"

"It's all you. When you wonder something then this place will switch to a form that can answer that. You wondered how you were alive after that first memory and it showed us Shuren picking you up then you wondered why he picked you up and it showed us that he must have raised you."

"So then, if I think about wanting to see my father...?"

"It should skip to the first memory that would've included your father."

"Alright then, I'm going to try." Lass closed his eyes and the shelter distorted itself as the world changed again. When he opened, there was no memory, only blackness. "What's going on here?"

"You thought about your father... so then, this must mean that you never once saw or knew him."

"I never knew my father?"

"He could have impregnated your mother without knowing it and left her alone. If that's what happened then it makes sense that you'd have no memory of your father."

"I suppose if you think about it like that. Dammit, this place is interesting, but it's not why I'm here. Take me somewhere else." The other Lass opened a doorway next to them, The two stepped through and They were back in the original dark area with the many portal looking things. "Where should we search next?" The other Lass shrugged.

"We have plenty of options." He pointed to one that showed Lass alone on the streets. "There's accessible memories." He pointed to another that showed Lass beheading Kaze'aze. "Accomplishments. "He pointed to yet another that showed Lire. "Love."

"Agh, enough. Just pick one for me, which do you think is the most likely for me to learn how to release my chakra."

"I can think of two places where you might find that information." He turned and pointed to a portal that showed the entire group fighting Faren. "That's Ambitions. The other is over there." He pointed to a black portal.

"What's that one."

"No clue. It's been locked ever since you reclaimed control of your mind, never been in there."

"It's been locked?"

"Try going inside, you'll see." Lass approached the portal. He reached his hand forward and a jolt of lightning ran down his arm. He jumped back.

"The hell."

"Told you... but now that I think about it, I'd probably know how to release your chakra if the way wasn't in there."

"So you're saying it's in there."

"I'd say so. So how do you think we get in?"

"Like this!" Lass yelled and jumped towards the portal. He rushed through the electricity and through the other side. He fell to his hands and knees as soon as he was on the other side. He was panting heavily. "OK, let's not to that again."

"Well I didn't do it, I just moved to you." The other Lass said, as tough as ever.

"Lucky. So what's in here?"

"Not a thing."

"There has to be something." The two looked around the dark space but there was nothing. "This is ridiculous."

"Wait, there's something here, you feel that?"

Lass closed his eyes. They shot open again quickly. "Damn, where is it."

"Behind you, look out!" Lass jumped forward, just avoiding the sword that came down behind him. He turned around.

"The hell, why are you here." Behind him was Ronan, holding a spellsword, ready to strike. "Why is Ronan here?"

"There's another one!"

"What?" Lass jumped just avoiding the strike of Ryan's axe.

"There's still more." Elesis with her sword, Amy with her chakram and Arme with her wand all appeared alongside the two, ready to attack Lass.

"What part of my mind is this? Pity? Guilt?"

"No, I know all of those places, they're pretty gloomy. I'd say... the only thing I can think of is that this place is where your limits exist."

"My limits? The hell are you talking about? How can these guys be my limits?"

"I don't know, maybe you subconsciously think they're holding you back or something. Either way, Kaze'aze probably closed this area of your mind off so that you're body would let go of it's limits."

"I guess that makes sense... but what should I do here?"

"Try this." The other Lass dropped two daggers and a pouch off throwing knives next to him. The area around them distorted and became a barren, rocky wasteland.

Lass picked them up. "I have no choice, huh?" The other Lass shrugged.

"It's all you." Lass took his old stance with his two daggers. Ronan jumped forward swing his sword down. Lass jumped up and bounced off of Ronan's head, turning and throw two knives into his back. He landed behind Ryan who spun around and tried to cleave Lass in half. Lass ducked below the swing and cut at Ryan's tendons. Ryan fell over, dropping his axe. Lass stood up and turned towards Elesis, Arme and Amy who were all facing him with their weapons ready. Ronan stood up to his side and picked up his sword. Lass raised his daggers in front of him. His eyes slowly shifted between the four.

"This is ridiculous. Why am I fighting them?"

"They're the embodiments of your limits, that's my best guess. Beat them and you can probably break through and release your chakra." Lass jumped forward, pushing of his right leg and flipping over Elesis. He swung his dagger downwards plunging it into the side of her cheek. Use the dagger for leverage, he flipped down and pushed of her side, flying dagger first into Amy's chest. Lass stepped back. Amy fell over with the dagger in her chest and Elesis swung her sword wildly, trying to hit something. She couldn't see due to the blood that had flown into her eyes. Lass threw one knife into the centre of her head. She dropped and stopped moving. Lass pulled out eight knives and held them between his fingers on both hands. "Two left, you can do it!" The other lass cheered from the sidelines. Lass threw four of the knives towards Arme and started moving forward to launch his follow-up. He stopped when Ronan jumped in front of Arme and stuck his sword in the ground.

"Tempest Barrier!" A barrier of wind appeared around the two throwing the knives away in random directions. Lass jumped back and threw the remaining knives as he avoided the new trajectories of the first few. The knives flew by just as the barrier went down. Lass cracked a smile at Ronan's scream of pain.

"Lightning bolt!" Lass' smile dropped quickly as he rolled to avoid Arme's thunder attack.

"Thunder blade!" A similar spell shot out grazing Lass' right side as he tried to avoid it. Both spells stopped at the same time. Lass quickly surveyed what was happening to see that Ronan was holding his sword with both hands. He held it's blade downward pointing towards the ground.

"Shit!"

"Spire Drive!" dozens of stalagmites shot out of the ground beneath Lass. Lass just barely managed to jump above them before they burst from the ground. He landed and balanced on the tip of one of the stalagmites. He reached into his pouch and threw more knives down at Ronan. A magical shield appeared in front of Ronan causing the knives to bounce off and fall to the ground. Arme swung her wand forward causing the shield to throw itself towards Lass. Lass jumped off of the stalagmite to avoid the attack and landed on the ground. He clenched his teeth and charged towards his two opponents. They both raised there weapons, preparing to cast a spell. Lass feinted forward and jumped to the side of them, they both followed him as he jumped to the sky over top of them.

"I won't lose here, especially not to you cheap imitations!" Lass spun in the air. He glanced down slightly as he felt the energy form in his hand. He smiled and landed right between the two. As soon as he landed he spun and shot his chain through Arme's stomach as he turned to slash Ronan with the scimitar. Ronan tried to block with his sword, but Lass slipped his weapon below it and took Ronan's head off. Lass pulled the chain out of Arme's stomach and quickly re-wrapped it around her arms. He lifted his scimitar and brought it down, finishing her off.

"Great job, you beat them. You beat your limits."

"Nah, these were way to weak to be my limits."

"What do you mean?"

"I realized something... these guys don't hold me back, they never have and they never will. hell I never would have beaten Kaze'aze without Lire's help."

"Well, yeah that's why she wasn't part of the group, right?"

"No, I realized that there's only one thing, one person, who has ever held me back."

"Who's that?"

"Me." Lass pointed his scimitar at the other Lass. "You're my limit, you've been lying to me since I came in here... you created those weak versions of my friends to fight me, and you left Lire out so you could make a point that would make me believe you. I have no clue how long I've been here, but I'm not leaving until I've taken you down."

"Well time does distort itself within your mind... I have no clue either. This all could've taken a minute, or we could've been in here days. Only way to know is that you'll be pulled when you die of dehydration or you starve to death."

"Wrong, I can find out as soon as I leave. And I'll be going as soon as I beat you, my limit, and unleash my chakra."

"Will you now?" The other Lass' eyes narrowed. "I'd like to see that, this should be good." The other Lass disappeared from sight. The world around them distorted until they were standing in a fighting arena. Lass turned and faced his opponent. The other Lass had altered his appearance, he now had black hair and much paler skin. He raised both his hands to chest level and claws appeared on them.

"Those are Shuren's weapons, aren't they?"

"I'm your limit, this is what you're trying to achieve so you'll have to overcome me."

"Fine then, I will." Lass extended his chain and spun it in a circle beside him. "Let's go." Lass dashed forward, still spinning the chain beside him. The other Lass didn't move. Lass threw the chain forward. The other Lass side-stepped slightly, causing the chain to go right past him. He then turned and dashed forward at an even more ridiculous speed than Lass was capable of. Lass raised his scimitar just in time to avoid a direct slash to the heart. The other Lass reappeared a god distance from Lass.

"Nice block, don't think that you'll get another one." He disappeared into thin air. "Come on now, hit me. I'm fragile, incredibly fragile. One good hit is enough to take me down so do it."

"Just keep talking."

"hah, you think I'm stupid? This is your mind, I can make my voice appear anywhere." halfway through that explanation, the other Lass' voice switched position and started coming from behind Lass.

"Damn."

"Come on now, you can do it." The other Lass taunted.

Lass closed his eyes. He stood perfectly still and focused on what was around him. The arena was silent, no footsteps, no breathing. Nothing moved or made a sound. Suddenly Lass' eyes shot open and he threw his chain directly in front of him. The chain bounced off of the other Lass' claws as he reappeared, surprised. Lass quickly redirected his chain and wrapped it around the other Lass' claw.

"You think this will do you any good?" The other Lass tried to beat the chain off, to no avail. "Fine then." He turned invisible again.

"You're really stupid, I'm kind of ashamed that you're my limit." Lass said as he pulled the chain down forcing the other Lass to reappear on the ground.

Lass dashed forward with his scimitar ready to strike the final blow. "Fool!" The other Lass acrobatically rose to his feet and jumped into the air with the chain, landing behind Lass. He pulled his claw backwards, dragging Lass' left arm with it. He moved at his inhuman speed and wrapped the chain around Lass' body, with his left arm locked firmly to his back. "You should be careful with that, a skill opponent could easily use it against you." Lass struggled to no avail. The other Lass' wrapping was to tight for Lass to escape and without the ability to move his left arm he couldn't even release the chain from the other Lass' claw.

"You lose, in the end limits like me are limits, you can't overcome them, no matter what you try." He approached Lass slowly as he spoke. "You should have just lived your life in that world out there, never worrying about Faren and you would've died happily in bed instead of going brain dead like this. But then, every choice you've made was stupid. Deciding to trust that group of idiots that call themselves heroes, accepting the help of that ancient assassin, falling in love with that worthless elf. You've always been alone. Even Shuren, that guy who seems to have raised you abandoned you and wouldn't even bring it up when you finally met him again. You can only be strong alone. Think about it, you fought those so called friends of yours without any hesitation. You know that you only can be powerful alone. Well you only could have been powerful alone, no longer for you're about to die. If you'd just realized it sooner then you may have been able to overcome me."

"I will overcome you."

"Fool, I fight alone, I have my power. You have become reliant on your friends powers. You couldn't even defeat the woman the ruined your life on your own, pathetic."

"No, I'll win and fight with them again. I fought those replicas so easily earlier because I knew, I believed that they are my allies, my friends and they would never attack me. That's why I could fight without hesitation. And lets get something straight. Never insult them. Elesis is strong-willed and always ready to fight for what's right and Amy is refreshingly juvenile and always ready to help us with whatever we need. Arme is one of the smartest people I've ever met, but she doesn't flaunt it or even realize it herself, Ryan is a gluttonous muscle head who wants nothing more than to atone for what he's done and Ronan always moved forward no matter what's thrown at him. As for Lire, well, she's perfect. In every way. And you're an idiot." Lass dropped his scimitar and put his right arm on the ground. Using it for leverage, he pushed off and threw his leg straight up catching the other Lass' jaw. The other Lass flew upwards, taking Lass with him. Lass swung his arm causing him to spin in air slightly and unwrap the chain. Lass got a firm grip on the chain and pulled the other Lass down towards the ground, hard. The other Lass pushed himself to his feet as quickly as he could, although he was still wobbly. He looked around the arena but couldn't see Lass anywhere.

"What the, where are you."

"Look at that. I've surpassed my limits."

"Wha-" The other Lass was cut off as he felt three thin cuts get sliced across his back. He turned around to see Lass, standing there calmly, his claws ready to strike. "Impossible, you can't exceed your limits. No one can."

"It appears, that I just did." Lass brought his claws down on the other Lass, who fell over and disappeared. The bodies of the others all disappeared along with him and the arena returned to the darkness it originally was. "I see, my first limit was the barrier in front of the portal, my second was knowing that I could trust my friends and the third was defeating my own negative thoughts." Lass said to himself. "Guess that's that." The area around him began to distort again. "Seems like I'm on my way out." Lass closed his eyes.

* * *

Lass' head shot up and his eyes opened. Shuren jumped in surprise.

"Welcome back. Here take this." Shuren handed Lass several bottles of water. Lass downed them in no time.

"How long was I out?"

"About two and a half days. Any longer and you would've died of dehydration." Lass grabbed the other bottles sitting behind Shuren and downed them just as quickly. "So, did you succeed?" Lass looked up at Shuren for a moment before turning invisible. "Nice work, but that doesn't mean I can't find you." Shuren's hand shot to his side and he grabbed Lass' collar. "Good work all the same, you even figured out how to refract the light and turn yourself invisible without my instruction."

"It wasn't that tough, the hard part was unlocking the chakra."

"Of course, that's the hardest part of it all."

"Shuren, there are some things I want to ask you." Lass said, completely cutting off the prior conversation.

"Yeah, alright then. I'll try to answer anything I can."

"Why didn't you tell me that you were the one who raised me?" Lass half-yelled. He decided not to beat around the push and instead went straight for the big questions.

"So... you saw your locked memories then?" Lass nodded. Shuren scratched the top of his head. "Alright then, I had been planning on telling you everything after the training was done anyways. Lass, you and I are half-brothers."

"What?"

"We have the same father, he left my mother when I failed to become an Evan Striper and she died shortly after. That's how Vense and I wound up on the streets. I followed clues about him... so that I could ask him a few questions and maybe punch him in the face a couple of times. But all I found was that Vense and I had a half-brother, a half-demon boy named Rufus.

"Rufus?" Shuren nodded.

"His mother was a demon trapped in our world. She wouldn't let us have anything to do with him and she raised him as a demon. I have no clue what could havve possibly happened to Rufus. As for you, Vense and I found you on the street and I knew, just by looking at you, that you were our father's. So we took you with us. When you were five, Vense was fifteen and he had become a pretty good thief and fighter so I left you in his care and went with Eiau and Aria to fight Kaze'aze. When I came back, Vense was dead and you were possessed. It was shortly after that, that I was thrust into this world. I guess the shock of Kaze'aze taking you over erased a lot of your early memories, and that's why you didn't know me."

"Yeah, I can't remember much since before I was eight, at that point, I think Kaze'aze was quietly fetering inside me, waiting for her next chance to attack. So, my next question is, what about our father, what happened to him?"

"I have no clue. I never found him and have no idea what's happening with him. I'm almost twenty-eight. He was Twenty-one when I was born. It's quite possible that he's still alive and well out there. Hell, it's possible that you and I have another fifty brothers out there in our world." Lass clenched his teeth.

"So... that's the truth of my family? Damn, that's a let down."

"Yeah, I hear you. I'm ashamed of our father as well... and I guess you never even knew your mother, huh?" Shuren reached into his shirt and pulled out a rope necklace with two rings hanging on it.

"What are those?"

"Vense wasn't to much of a fighter, but he was great with metalwork. He made these, as well as my weapons and probably the weapons you used before you got those ones from the deity's." Shuren took one of the rings of the necklace. "Here, take it, it's yours now. From now on, Vense watches over us both." Lass looked closely at the ring.

"Thanks. I'm going to finish this and when I'm done, I'm going to find our father." Lass put the ring on his left hand.

"I believe in you, I think you can unleash your chakra fully... I believe you can surpass me. Do so and save our world, alright?" Lass closed his eyes.

"Of course, but I'm not going alone.

* * *

And done. This was supposed to be the chapter where they left earth and headed back to their own world... but it felt strange to skip from the section with Lass to making up to going home, so I cut it here. Next chapter will be up when it's up. Review and have a nice day.


	37. The return

OK, this time they are going to be leaving... I swear... but I'm not promising... something will run long again, just wait you'll see.

SparkFrost: Yeah, I'm well aware of my typos. I go back and read my chapters before posting but it's pretty tough to spot everything. I go back and read my chapters after they're posted as well, sometimes to get information (For example, when I was writing the festival chapter I had to go back and check chapter 6 to remember whether I spelled Ceria with a C or an S) and other times just to read... when I notice typos I go and fix them in that case. But there are always those that slip under the radar, not too many though. As for "To" and "Too", I've tried to learn those over and over but they never stick, all I remember is that "To" is more common so I don't use "Too" because then I'll be right a majority of the time, not to mention there are some ambiguous places where there's no solid rule for which is correct. You may ask why I don't use a beta-reader, but I've had bad experiences where I sent it to 4 beta readers and only one of them got back to me about 3 weeks later... plain and simple I don't trust Beta Reader's unless someone wants to offer and can promise they'll get back within 24 hours (I have the same expectations of my beta readers as I hold myself to as a beta reader). I'm gonna look up "To" and "Too" again and try to get it to stick in my head, thanks for bringing it to my attention. Oh and Elesis... that was a one time, no call back, joke, she's just getting by with a couple tiny wounds I guess.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Where the hell have you been?" Ryan asked when he spotted Lass. "You and Shuren disappeared for two days, where'd you go"

"We were around. Training."

"Training? Did you finish up?" Lass nodded.

"I'm ready."

"Well, let's test that. Come on, we'll get our weapons and spar." Lass shrugged.

"Alright then, if you really want to get your butt kicked I'll give you a hand." The two went, collected their weapons and went out into the back yard. Ryan swung his crescent blade around his body a bit.

"Alright, I'm ready." Lass stuck his scimitar into the ground and reached into his pocket. He pulled out Vense's ring and ran his finger over it.

"Alright then... keep an eye on me from now on." Lass put the ring back on his finger and picked up his scimitar. "Let's do this." Ryan charged forward first and swung his blade at Lass. Lass jumped over the slash and landed calmly on the other side of Ryan. Lass didn't attack, or even move beyond that.

"What? You think you're better than me because you're done training? Let's do this!" Ryan charged again and slashed. Again Lass jumped over it.

"Can I stop going easy now?"

"I never asked you to."

"Alright then." Lass turned invisible.

"When the hell did you learn that?" Ryan yelled.

"I told you I was finished training." Ryan felt something wrap around his arm and lift him off the ground. He was then smashed back into the ground, hard."

"An invisible chain is just not fair." Lass reappeared.

"We're done."

"What, why?"

"I could've killed you in twelve different, equally painful ways already. You can't win." Ryan clenched his teeth.

"Fine then, let me show you what Riallan taught me."

Ryan punched the ground causing large thorns to burst up from the ground under Lass. "Whoa, that's new." Vines began to shoot up along with the thorns and wrapped around Lass' arms and legs.

"See, you're not the only one with new abilities."

"Clearly." Lass struggled as hard as he could but his physical abilities weren't quite enough to break free from the vines.

"I guess it's my win."

"Ugh, damn. I'm not losing to you."

"Sorry Lass, I win." Ryan's eyes widened in surprise as Lass suddenly shredded the vines around him.

"Didn't even take a minute."

"Where the hell did you get those!" Ryan yelled as he stared at the dangerously sharp claws on Lass' hands. "Stop, stop, session over! You win!"

"As I said." Ryan calmed his breathing with a few deep breaths.

"Damn those look sharp. Leave it to you to have a weapon hidden away."

"I didn't hide these away, they just appeared."

"They... hey do you still have the scimitar and chain." Lass looked around him and all over the grounds.

"Looks like it disappeared..."

"We've gotta talk to Urashin." Ryan said as he hopped to his feet and dragged Lass by the wrist while being careful not to slice himself on the claws.

"Would you hang on?" Ryan let go of Lass' wrist. Lass detached the claws from his wrist and let them snap back, creating a makeshift gauntlet on his arm. "There, now let's go." Lass took the lead from Ryan as the two headed into the shrine. They went straight to Urashin's room. There were papers scattered all over the room and Urashin looked exceptionally tired.

"You OK, Urashin?" Ryan asked, concerned about the old man.

"I've been trying to figure out just how those weapons work... but I keep hitting dead ends, I can't think of anything."

"Well you shouldn't over work yourself, and we brought good news for your research."

"Good news? And what is that?"

"Lass' weapon changed. His scimitar and chain turned into claws."

"What!" Urashin jumped up and examined the claws on Lass' arms. "Lass, tell me everything that's changed with you since the last time I had you try to change your weapon."

"I did some training with Shuren, found out a bit about him and myself and I got this ring." Lass held up his hand to show the ring.

"Who gave you the ring?"

"Shuren." Urashin grabbed his head in both hands.

"Of course, it's so obvious how did I not see it!"

"He's gets pretty crazy about this stuff." Lass commented.

"That's what you have to say in this situation?"

"Lass, you're fast so go find either Riallan or Arme and bring them here. Just bring one of them, whoever you come across first." Lass shrugged.

"Fine, be back in a minute." Lass left the room. He was back within a couple of minutes and Riallan showed up shortly afterwards.

"What did you want old man?"

"I think I've figured out the secret to the weapons thanks to Lass' help. It was so simple that I'm somewhat ashamed of myself."

"So what is it then?"

"A symbol."

"I'm sorry, a symbol?"

"Yes, a symbol of passing. Hand Ryan something important to you. A necklace, a charm, a ring, anything that's important to you and could act as a symbol of you accepting Ryan as the successor to your power."

"Well, if you put it like that then maybe this will do." Riallan reached into his shirt and pulled out a small silver leaf on a chain."

"Whoa, you're Viken leaf?" Ryan said surprised. "I can't take that! On that note, why haven't you given it to Aria yet?"

"She said it was ugly and wouldn't take it, but you will." Riallan shoved it into Ryan's hand.

"So what is that thing then?" Lass asked, mildly curious.

"The Viken leaf is a silver charm shaped like a leaf that's given to someone when they advance to the rank of Viken. Supposedly, because of some old tradition or something, Vikens are supposed to give them to the person they fall in love with. It's kind of a weird tradition but I've never seen anyone break it."

"She's not an elf, she doesn't know our traditions." Riallan shrugged. "Now here, you won't get a Viken leaf if you don't take this one, so take it."

"Fine, fine I'll take it." Ryan put the leaf around his neck.

"Good, now Ryan pick up your weapon and think about how you need more strength to defeat Faren." Urashin told him, excitedly.

"Alright." Ryan grabbed the crescent blade from the ground and closed his eyes, thinking about what had happened when Faren appeared before them earlier.

"It worked!" Urashin exclaimed. Ryan opened his eyes. The crescent blade in his hand had become a long scythe. He was amazed, the weapons fit his hand so well that he hadn't even noticed the change until Urashin said something. "Yes, a symbol of passing. How did I not realize that? You three gather everyone, now. Lass, Ryan and Riallan all left the room quickly, almost frightened by Urashin's passion. About half an hour later, everyone had gathered in their normal meeting room.

"We've figured it out!" Urashin announced happily. "The weapons need a symbol of passing in order to work, like the heroes gave the kids originally. A ring, necklace or something else like that. Ryan, Lass show them." Ryan and Lass showed their weapons as well as the ring and necklace. "Now then, Arme, take this." Urashin handed Arme a bracelet with a Violet V on it. "The mark of a violet mage, take it." Arme took the bracelet and put it on. "Alright now, take your weapon and think about how you need more strength, think about Faren and focus." Arme did as instructed and her cauldron changed into a lamp.

"A lamp? Like, a Genie's lamp?" Elesis asked.

"Yes exactly. Now come on, we need the others as well." The remaining warriors gave their apprentices some form of symbol and they transformed their weapons. Eiau gave Elesis a hairband that belonged to her mother. Aria gave Ronan their father's guantlet. Amy received a a hair tie which she used to pull her hair into a small, tight ponytail. And Lire received a a Viken leaf, which had belonged to her brother. "Excellent, everyone's ready."

"Hold it, most of us aren't done training yet." Elesis interjected.

"Yes you are." Eiau cut her off. "We've taught you the basics, or at least explained them to you. That's all you actually need... and all we're going to tell you. The rest is up to you. If we teach you, you'll never learn. You must find your own way to fight, with your new weapons." Aria nodded.

"He's right, you're all meant to be heroes. You can't be taught, you have to learn."

"Alright, we understand. Thank you for everything you've done." Ronan said before any of the others could voice their discontent. Suddenly, the door flew open. Justin was on the other side, panting with his laptop in his hand.

"I found it, the way back to your world!" He announced. He pushed his way to the table in the centre of the room. He pulled up a picture of Ronan's mother. "This is Ronan and Aria's mother Ai Yagashi. She's originally from this world and she disappeared in this city about thirty years ago." Justin then pulled up a map of the city. He highlighted a section of the map. "This is the area she was last seen in before she disappeared. After cracking into some records I figured that out but I also found out that several other people had disappeared. They were all seen for the last time in the same general area and on the same date. In other words, that's where you have to be and you have to be there in six days."

"Six days? So that's all the time we have before we have to go back to our world." Urashin commented. "I see, excellent work Justin." Justin nodded with a big smile on his face.

"That's what you brought me for. I just hope that I was able to help you guys save your world in some way."

"What's going on?" Sakura asked as she entered the room in her school uniform.

"Ah, welcome home Sakura." Eiau greeted her. "A lot just happened in a short amount of time, come, I'll explain." Eiau stood and left the room. Sakura looked back at everyone and then followed Eiau. Justin left the room next and after him the old warriors drifted out, leaving the current generation alone.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Ronan said as he stared at the sword and shield that his glaive had transformed into. He slipped the shield over his arm and grasped the sword in his other hand, which he wore his father's guantlet on. He swung the sword around himself a few times and swung the shield around easily. "It's so light. I hope these will give us the edge we need to beat Faren."

"Hopefully." Ryan responded as he carefully swung his new scythe around.

"Don't worry, we'll win as long as we all work together." Amy added in cheerfully as she examined the strange weapon she had received. Her mother called it a Kleiophone but she wasn't entirely sure about what it was supposed to be. "As long as we all work together..." she repeated as she glanced at the other girls. Arme was huddled up in her own corner, hugging her knees to her chest while Elesis and Lire both sulked in a different part of the room. The three continually stole glances at each other.

"Did they not make up while I was gone?" Lass whispered to Ronan. Ronan shook his head.

"No, they haven't been arguing though... we can't even get them to speak to each other."

"What have you tried?"

"Not to much, we all figured that it's their job to sort their own feelings out."

"Do we really have time for that?"

"We've spoken to them... but it hasn't been going well."

"hm, I see. Alright, I'm fixing this."

"What? What are you doing." Lass walked over to Lire and stared at her.

"What do you want?" She asked uncomfortably. Amy, Ryan and Ronan all watched with growing interest. Lass swung back and slapped Lire across the face. Amy, Ryan and Ronan's eyes all grew wide and Lire stood with her head facing away from Lass in shock. Lass turned to Elesis and, using his speed, appeared in front of her, slapping her as well. Arme jumped up, but everyone knew that she had no ability to outrun Lass and he slapped her as well. He stepped back, looking at all three of the girls, crossed his arms and glared at them. Ryan, Amy and Ronan all stared at his back.

"That's more than enough, all of you." He said, with unusual authoritativeness. "None of you are right and none of you are wrong. Elesis!" Elesis cringed slightly but glared at Lass nonetheless. "You need to make an effort to be more responsible, hell everyone does at this point. Not only that but you take offense to anything that could even slightly be considered insulting, stop that, we can't afford an attitude like that any more!" Lass turned to Lire. She stared at him, stone-faced, waiting to hear what he had to say to her. "Don't try to take everything onto yourself the way you did. Your part in this fight, to the best of my knowledge, had to do with the fact that you couldn't stand having to be responsible for them anymore. Well don't be! No one ever asked you to and no one expects it, let them take care of themselves!" Lass turned to Arme, who cringed and hid behind her hands. "You're just having trouble with the whole battle and you displaced it onto others, setting Elesis off and starting the whole fight." He said in a far calmer tone than he had used with the other two. "Watch what you say and keep your cool. When you feel like someone needs help or you realize your being a burden don't hide, turn and face the problem head on."

"When the hell did you become so wise?" Ryan asked, somewhat annoyed.

"And how did you know the details of the fight?" Amy asked.

"I heard Arme scream, so I took a look inside, watched the whole thing then left when they started storming out of the room." Amy shook her head.

"You would." She said exasperated.

"I'm sorry." Lire said. "He's right... we can't afford to be fighting like this. I really shouldn't have gone off on you two for my own choices. Sorry, this was all my fault."

"It was not." Elesis said angrily. "It was completely my fault. All you did was try to stop me from fighting with Arme and I took offence to it... Sorry, it was all me. I'll figure out someway to be helpful from now on."

"What? I'm the least helpful." Arme cut in. "I'm the one that started you guys going and it's because I failed at being responsible. I'm not brave enough to rush in like you two... I've never been that helpful."

"Shut up." Elesis said. "What about Elena? We never would have gotten out of there if it hadn't been for you... and you were the key to freeing Lass to."

"What? No, Lire was. She's the one who found the potion and got the most dangerous ingredient."

"It wasn't me." Lire added. "If Elesis hadn't distracted Kaze'aze and held her still we never would have been able to free him." A loud crash rang threw the room. everyone turned to look at Ronan who had punched the wall.

"Enough of that! You're finally making up and now you start arguing about who's the the least useful. Just stop please. Make-up and then walk away for awhile." The three girls turned to each other and said their apologies again. "Thank you... geez, you three are a handful." Ronan said as he slumped against the wall. "How'd you know that would work, Lass?"

"Well, I didn't expect it to work like that. I was hoping they'd all get mad at me and then they'd make up because they all wanted to get back at me... but this works to."

"You're a strange man."

"As are you."

"OK, please, let's stop all the weird conversations." Ryan begged.

"Sure, fair enough." Ronan answered. The seven began to have a conversation about their world and tried to form a rough plan, despite the fact that they knew nothing of the current condition of their world. The door flew open. Sakura came running in.

"You guys are leaving?" She half screamed.

"Yeah, Justin found the way back for us... we're heading back, it's finally time to finish things." Elesis answered.

"Oh, I see. Well... it was fun having you guys around. When are you leaving?"

"Six days from now." Ryan answered. They went on to explain everything Justin had told them, rather than just the basics that she had heard from Eiau.

"Oh, I think I know the place you're looking for. The government fenced it off because people kept disappearing if they went into that area during a certain time."

"That's perfect, we'll have to move our weapons there before it's time to go through the portal or whatever it is that's going to open." Ronan chimed in.

"I see... well the cherry blossoms are going to bloom soon. That was the day I was planning on taking you guys for viewing... it's something that everyone around here loves to do."

"Cherry blossom viewing? Sounds nice." Ryan said.

"Perhaps we can take the time before we head out then." Ronan answered.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it." Amy said happily.

"Yeah. Well you guys just make sure you're ready for when it's time to go, six day will go by like that." Sakura said as she snapped her fingers. Sakura left the room. She sighed in the hallway.

"Sakura!" Aurora called to her. "Tell me, are the things I asked for ready?"

"No but they should be by the time you all head back. She said they're almost done."

"I can't believe you found someone to do this."

"Don't worry, I have a lot of money and Tamuro's mom just loves this stuff. You're just lucky that you started early after you came to our world, otherwise there's no way we'd be finished."

"Yes, of course. Thank you for aiding me in this." Sakura and Aurora bowed to each other and the two parted ways.

* * *

The next five days were filled with training and the nights were spent sleeplessly telling stories, or devising plans. on the fifth night everyone took they're weapons and armor and were guided, by Sakura, to a fenced off area in the centre of a large park. They left their weapons and armor their and returned to the shrine. The next morning Sakura gathered everyone in their normal meeting room.

"I guess you're all heading back today." She said. Aurora sat next to Justin and translated what she said. "Before you go, I'd like you all to come to the park and view the cherry blossoms. I made sure to leave time so we can get to the area in time for you all to return to your old world, I just want you to have one more good memory of this world before you go."

"We already have plenty." Ronan said.

"But one more can't hurt." Amy finished his thought.

"Alright then, before we go anywhere, I believe that Kataleen had something to say." Aurora stood and walked to the center of the room.

"As most of you know, my original name was Kataleen. I threw that name away many years ago, when I thought that Faren had died, and I took the name Aurora and became the knightmaster for the kingdom of Serdin. This is more directed towards the seven warriors, since they are the only ones here who call me Aurora, but I'm throwing that name away." She reached up to the shrine maiden outfit that she had been wearing since she got to the world and let it fall off her body. Underneath was an interesting set of clothing. It was a long black tunic-like top and black pants. each was bordered with a greenish-blue color. Aurora reached down for her sword and attached it to her hip. She drew the sword slowly and held it in front of her. This was the first time the warriors had a chance to closely look at the strangely curved blade that Aurora had always fought with. It was decorated with many arcane symbols and everyone could see that it was made of a smooth, white metal.

"As of now, I'm returning to my old name. I renounce the title of knightmaster and take back my old name, Kataleen the frigid blade."

"Amazing, you even went and made a duplicate of your old clothing." Eiau commented. Kataleen sheathed her sword.

"Faren has returned. I thought that that part of my life is over, but until he is gone again, I must return to it."

"I understand, I feel the same way." Amanda commented. It's strangely nostalgic and somewhat disappointing that we won't be the ones to finish our old companion's madness. I will, however, take pride in being able to aid them." Kataleen nodded.

"As will I. Which is why I have one more announcement. Sakura." Sakura nodded and brought in a large box. They opened the box and Kataleen pulled out a long black coat. On the back there was a crest which consisted of an old symbol which no one recognized. At the center of the symbol was a crimson circle. "I'm forming a new organization. Now, You're all members of the New Grand Chase. Our goal? to protect and guide the seven warriors safely to the final battle, for the sake of our world." Kataleen put the coat on as Sakura began handing everyone a black coat almost identical to hers. Everyone put them on. Kataleen raised her blade, still in it's sheathe. "This has to end now, and that's what we're going to do." Everyone nodded their agreement. They all removed the coats again and returned them to Sakura, who repacked them into the box and had Shuren deliver it quickly to the area where everyone had stored their weapons and armor. She clapped her hands together.

"Let's go everyone." She said happily. Everyone went to the park together, meeting up with Shuren when they arrived. There were people all over the park sitting on blankets and having picnics among the cherry blossom trees. Everyone looked around at the trees, which they hadn't seen very clearly the night before.

"Wow, they're pretty." Amy said happily as she looked at the pink blossoms on the trees.

"Yeah, no kidding." Ryan added.

"Come on guys." Sakura called to them. "Help me spread this out so we can eat something." Everyone helped Sakura spread out the blanket and get their picnic ready. They sat in the park and ate as they watched the blossoms fall from the trees, one by one.

"The petals falling are as beautiful as they are on the tree." Ronan commented as he watched a small group of cherry blossom petals flutter to the ground."

"That's nothing." Sakura told them. "Hopefully it happens soon." Saakura felt her hair move from in front of her face. "I hope that's it."

"What?"

"The wind, the cherry blossoms are amazing if you get a strong gust of wind." Everyone felt the wind pick up. "Yes, we got lucky. Come on, please get stronger." The wind picked up stronger and stronger until the petals flew off the trees, flying all around in the sky. Everyone stared at the petals flying around speechlessly.

"Amazing." Elesis muttered.

"Beautiful." Lire stepped back, running into Lass who was as dumbstruck as the others. Sakura smiled as the petals flew around in the sky. Everyone watched the petals fly around for ten minutes or so. The wind died down and the petals began to fall all over the park. The raining petals were even more beautiful. Sakura glanced down at her phone.

"Everyone, it's time to go." She said as she shook people to get their attention. Everyone snapped back to attention.

"Alright, let's go. It's time to continue the fight." Ronan said. Everyone headed towards the area where they had stored their things. They all put on their armor and the coats that Kataleen had prepared. They grabbed their weapons and got ready. Justin sat down and typed a few things into his computer.

"It should be opening any minute now, according to my calculations." A small light shone on the ground and expanded until it was a large shining portal. "Yeah, there it is."

Sakura hugged Elesis and the other girls. "Bye guys. It wasn't long but I'm going to miss you." The girls walked to the edge of the portal. The guys walked by Sakura and each patted her on the shoulder as they passed. She smiled at each of them. Justin also shook the hands of each of the guys.

"I guess this is goodbye then." Eiau said to Sakura. Sakura turned and hugged Eiau.

"Thank you for taking care of me for so long."

"Your father was a good friend of mine. It was my pleasure. I'm trusting that you'll be OK on your own."

"Yes... thank you, father." Eiau smiled and hugged her again.

"You did excellent work, Justin." Urashin complimented him. "I wish I could reward you for all your help."

"Nah, all this was reward enough. Now I can never say my life was boring."

"I'm glad to hear it, be sure to thank the others for me. Tell them that I believe in them and I'm sure that they'll be successful in whatever they do."

"Thank you sir, I'll tell them." Eiau and Urashin joined the others in front of the portal. Justin and Sakura waved.

"Goodbye, it was good meeting everyone." Everyone waved back at the two.

"Remember everyone." Urashin announced. "We have no idea where we will come out on the other side, there isn't any guarantee that we'll even appear in the same place. So everyone should try to head to Kanavan when we get there, we'll all meet there."

"Everyone nodded their approval and waved to Sakura and Justin, both of whom started tearing up as they all disappeared into the portal.

"Bye." Sakura whispered as Elesis, who was the last to enter, entered the portal. She started rubbing her eyes and sniffled. "Let's go." She said to Justin. He looked at her stupidly. "Oh right..." She tugged on his sleeve to tell him that she wanted him to follow her and the two left, careful to avoid letting anyone see them leave the restricted area.

"I guess their gone now... life's gonna be boring for awhile. Not that you can understand me." Justin muttered to himself as they walked away.

"Let's just go, their gone. It's time to go back to our normal lives."


	38. The Lost Continent

Sorry this took so long, they suddenly put me in charge of a LOT of gigs at the theatre, it's great money (8 fifteen hour days in a row) But leaves no time for anything else. Anyways, there was an anonymous review recently, if everyone could sign their reviews so I can address answers that would be appreciated.

Anonymous reviewer: In the most recent version of GrandChase they visit silverland before going to Ellia but in the original (Back when I played and started this story) they went straight from Gaikoz' castle (Which was noticeably harder than it is now.) to Partusay's sea, Silverland was nothing more than a side story. That's why it's from Bermesiah to Ellia, if you don't like it... hey no one's forcing you to read, and I won't cry over one lost reader. This chapter takes place on Silverland BTW.

SparkFrost: Well there's a touch more to it than that, but yeah essentially. I didn't want to do a lot of trials or fighting on earth, that was time off to help me with some character development mostly (And because I decided when I first started that I was gonna find someone to get them to a Japanese summer festival). Lass' trial was there specifically because I hadn't had a huge amount of time to do a lot with him because of how late he joined up. Plus his mind was still jumbled from being controlled, notice something different about his second job? How everyone else fought alone during the fight where they got second job except him, yeah, that was purposeful.

Enjoy

* * *

Elesis slowly opened her eyes. She felt sick and tired, like she had when she had first gone to Sakura's world. She took her time to get her head back and pushed herself to her feet.

"Ugh... where am I?" She asked. No one answered. "Huh, is anyone there!" She called. "Great, looks like Urashin was right. I'm the only one here... wherever here is." Elesis surveyed her surroundings several times. She was in the middle of some ruins, she couldn't tell what the building that used to stand here had been. "This place has been destroyed... and recently." Elesis examined the dirt beneath the pieces of rubble which had not yet settled into place. It was clear that the dirt had been throw around recently. "What the hell happened here?" Elesis picked up her sword with both hands and held the hilt near her waist. "If I just keep moving... then I'll find someone, I'm sure of it." She reassured herself before setting off. She examined her surroundings carefully, so as not to miss anyone who was still unconscious. She stopped. She turned her head slightly, glancing in the direction of the sound she had just heard. The sound of rocks falling down each other and hitting the ground, it happened again. She turned around completely with her great sword ready to strike, if the need arose. A white, human-like, being jumped from behind a large boulder. Elesis made a quick slash at the being, which fell to pieces. Elesis examined the remains.

"Bones?" She said, surprised. "What's going on here?" Several more skeletons came out from behind or under the rubble that was strewn around the area. "More, huh? Fine, let's go." Elesis bent her knees slightly and prepared to charge at a moments notice. The skeletons formed a sort of squad in front of her and took a familiar looking fighting stance. _"Isn't that?" _One of the skeletons broke off from the group and tried to punch Elesis. The others all followed behind with punches, kicks and tackles. Elesis carefully avoided the attacks while launching her own counterattacks. Luckily, the skeletons were quite fragile and a single hit was usually enough to shatter them. The last one finally fell. Elesis looked around at the bones littering the ground. "No doubt," She muttered. "That was Thomas' style, less refined but that was it. Luckily they were pretty fragile..." Elesis' words trailed off as she lost herself in thought. She knew that everyone had to be somewhere, but she had no idea how exactly the portal worked. Maybe they all got lucky that they had landed near Sakura's house in the other world. Either that or it's possible that transporting by using Faren's amulet was a more directed move. Elesis shook her head. "I'm starting to sound like Arme." She giggled. "Now's not the time, I have to find someone." She lifted her sword to attach it to her back again, but stopped and spun around, swinging her sword. She broke another of the skeletons into pieces. "Only one this time?" She muttered. "kind of pathetic, but annoying." Elesis looked up and took a quick step back. The skeletons she had destroyed earlier were rebuilding themselves. "Dammit!" She yelled as she got her sword ready. She danced around the skeletons knocking them all to pieces again. As she fought, more skeletons joined the ranks and began attacking. There were so many that by the time she had destroyed them all, the first ones she had destroyed were already up and moving again. Elesis had complete faith in her strength to defeat the skeletons, but at the rate they were going, she knew that she would tire herself out and lose eventually. She had to get away, but was completely surrounded and if she tried to cut away one group to create an escape route then she would have an entire army attacking her back, she had to keep turning and fighting evenly.

_"Dammit, at this rate, I'm done for. What am I supposed to do?"_ As Elesis tried, fruitlessly, to find some way of escape, she felt another presence appear outside of the barrier of bones, this one was alive. Someone leapt over the skeletons, landing right next to Elesis. He was a young man, muscular with bright red hair. He turned to her.

"Stay close!" He yelled as he raised his fist above his head. "White lotus technique!" He yelled as he punched the ground. Flames rose from around them, creating a sort of dome which burst out knocking out all the skeletons at once. The boy grabbed Elesis' wrist and started running, dragging her behind him. "This way, quickly!" He made several quick turns through the rubble, finally stopping. He knelt on the ground and pulled open a trapdoor. "In here, quick!" Elesis jumped in, followed shortly after by the boy who closed the door behind him. She looked around, it looked like a strange sort of bucker. There was food and water in one corner and various scrolls on the wall.

"So who're you?" She asked the boy, making sure to keep both hands on her sword.

"Put your sword down, I'm not your enemy, not if those skeletons are after you, at least."

"I'm Elesis... what's your name." She said, without dropping her sword.

"I'm Jin, of the silver knights." Elesis' eyes opened in surprise.

"Amy's brother?" Jin head shot around to glare at her.

"You know Amy? How is she, is she alright."

"She's fine, we were travelling together until recently."

"You were... that means you're from the outside?"

"The outside? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't you know where you are?" Elesis shook her head. "This is Silverland!"

"The lost continent!"

"Is that what we're known as out there. Well... about eight years ago, I guess, Amy left with some General Kirion guy. Almost immediately after, my step-mother, Amanda, disappeared and then this veil of darkness appeared around the continent and we could no longer get to the other continents. If we sailed, we'd just land on the opposite shore."

"Seriously... that's how Silverland disappeared?" Jin nodded.

"Yeah, shortly afterwards, the Dark Fairy Queen appeared. I'm not sure how she got in here, but she attacked the Silver Knights. We were already spread thin thanks to the Silverland war four years earlier. When the war ended we had only three masters left, and one of them left with an ally from Kanavan. The other two were my father, Gang, and his best friend, Victor. The Dark Fairy Queen's attack was so quick and so utterly unexpected that we lost Victor and there were very few apprentices left. That was when my father finally agreed to take me on as an apprentice, though I was only ten years old at the time. Over the past eight years, we've been fighting to protect the people, who we evacuated to a small port town named Asurin, it's all we have left. I'm the only one left, those skeletons you were fighting, are my old companions."

"What, are you kidding me?" Jin shook his head.

"No, the Dark Fairy Queen re-animated the skeletons of my old companions. I'm the only one left."

"Then... you're father to?" Jin shook his head again.

"No. My father disappeared a long time ago. About 3 years ago, I guess, a big castle was created on the far edge of the continent. My father left to investigate and he never returned. It was at that point we started losing to the Dark Fairy and her monsters... she's been slowly picking us off, one by one, for years now."

"That's awful."

"Yeah. And what's worse is that the Silver Knight's fighting style is now dead... unless master Thomas took an apprentice."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but Thomas is dead. I knew him, he helped take care of me when I grew up and he died."

"Dammit... Tell me, what's going on, on the outside." Elesis finally set down her sword. She explained Kaze'aze and what had been happening outside of Silverland. She continued on and explained Faren, where she had come from and Amy's role. "I see... so you got here from another world? Then I guess there isn't a way out."

"Sorry I can't help you with that. But for now, I'd like to work with you. I need to find a way out, that castle you mentioned might be a good place to check out."

"Probably, but me and my friends were never tough enough to get there."

"Well, you've got me now. I'm a hero meant to beat Kaze'aze, you won't lose if I'm here."

"I'm not holding my breath." Elesis sneered at him. "Either way, I'm not leaving this place, as soon as I do then the Dark Fairy Queen will head straight to Asurin and everyone there is dead."

"I see, well then let's take down the Dark Fairy Queen, you won't have any problems with leaving then, will you?"

"Well, if the Dark Fairy Queen is gone then my old companions will no longer be animated, the militia, or what's left of it, can probably handle the monsters hanging around then."

"Great then let's get her." Elesis heads back towards the exit to the bunker.

"Wait, it's not that easy. The Dark Fairy Queen is strong and she can't be finished by normal means."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can damage the Dark Fairy Queen all you want, but whenever she dies, she revives immediately. Her body isn't ethereal, but it's sure as hell not a proper physical form."

"So how do you beat her then."

"You have to weaken her and then launch a spiritual attack directly at her dark soul. That's why she attacked us, the Silver Knights style is known for it's ability to launch these attacks, like the one I used earlier. The problem is, the White Lotus Technique is my strongest attack and we need something stronger to take down the Queen."

"What do we need?"

"The Fist of Ten Thousand Hells, and I'll need to unleash the power of the burning soul in order to attack her spiritually with it."

"But you don't know the attack?"

"No, I do." Jin walked over to a small container and pulled a ragged scroll from inside. "I just don't have the spiritual capacity to use it."

"Capacity? What do you mean, Capacity?"

"It's the term we use. We all have spiritual power, enough to use any technique that's ever been invented. But each person has a different capacity which determines how much you can unleash at any given time."

"So you can't call enough spiritual energy to use the technique? Then how do you make your capacity higher?"

"Most of the time it's meditation, but I haven't really had the time lately."

"Alright, how fast can you increase your capacity?"

"It takes a long time... but..."

"But what?"

"It's possible to pull large amounts of spiritual energy and store energy past my capacity, if I do then I can use all that energy at once to unleash the attack, but it'll be a one-shot and it'll leave me so drained that if I miss, then we've basically lost."

"One chance, huh? how long do you need to get it ready?"

"An hour or two, maybe. I'm not entirely sure, I've never had a reason to stockpile my energy before."

"I'll keep the Dark Fairy Queen busy for as long as I can. Do you know where she is?"

"She's hiding in the ruins, the only reason she hasn't gone to the town yet is because her goal was to destroy the Silver Knights. She's not leaving until I'm dead, but if I leave, there's no way she won't attack the town to lure me back."

"Got it, just leave her to me. Come find us when you're ready."

"I don't even know you, and you have nothing to do with the people around here. Why the hell would you possibly help us?" Jin asked, suspicious of how quickly Elesis formed a plan to help him.

"If what you said is true, then I'll need someone to guide me so I can get off this continent and back to where I'm needed. Besides, I'd never turn my back on people in need, that's just not something I do." Jin grunted

"Forget it, I'm not trusting someone I just met with something this important. For all I know you're to weak too hold her of for even a minute."

"Fine then." Elesis shrugged. "I'll go find her, fight her, eventually I'll get tired and she'll kill me. Then she'll get bored with you eventually and go take down everyone in the town and then hunt you down again. And why? Well because you refused to accept the help of someone who's, most likely, the last chance for an ally you'll ever get." Jin scowled because of Elesis' attitude but also because her strange logic was beginning to convince him.

"Fine then, I'll trust you, just this once."

"So what's the plan?"

"Distract the Queen until I've collected enough energy to launch the attack, at which point I'll come find you and she'll be finished off. When I attack I'm almost certain to pass out, so you have to take me to Asurin." Jin reached into one of the boxes and handed Elesis a map which was marked, showing the locations of the ruins and Asurin. "Get directions to the guardian's forest and speak to Yggdrasil, the tree of life who resides there. He'll get me on my feet, he may even be able to help you."

"You're really all or nothing when it comes to trusting people, aren't you?" Elesis giggled mockingly. Jin scowled again.

"Just go do your part in the plan, would you?"

"Alright, I'm going. I'll hold her back for awhile, so don't take too long alright."

"I'll go as quickly as possible." Elesis nodded and left the bunker, tucking the map into her coat. She swung the enormous sword over her shoulder and started walking through the desolate ruins, searching for the queen.

"Hey Queenie!" She yelled mockingly. "Come out here and fight me, huh? Don't send those stupid skeletons, they won't beat me this time!" Elesis scanned around her. "What's wrong, scared?" A skeleton appeared from behind the rubble. "Give me a break." Elesis moaned as she lifted her sword into her stance. The skeleton charged at her, but she shattered it with a single swipe of her sword. "Come on! Fight me!" She yelled. She was agitated now, she thought it would be much easier to meet the Dark Fairy Queen than it was. She swung her sword over her shoulder and began walking again. A dark, ovular dome appeared in front of her. It dissipated revealing a fairy with purple skin and dark clothing. Elesis grinned. "Are you the one I've been looking for?" She asked confidently.

"I am the Dark Fairy Queen, and you have been taunting me."

"Yeah, I have. I wanted to fight you?"

"And why is that?"

"I heard you've been terrorizing some townspeople, you're using the silver knights corpses as weapons and you're just an all around bad person."

"What a simple answer. I believe I am the one you're looking for, but don't think that you can beat me."

"I'm pretty tough you know. I'm one of the people who took down Kaze'aze." The Dark Fairy Queen laughed hysterically.

"Fool, even Starklin's power can't destroy me, you stand no chance." Elesis scratched her head.

"Yeah... I have no idea who that is or what you could possibly be talking about." The Dark Fairy Queen looked surprised at Elesis' admission.

"You don't know Starklin. Strange considering... well no matter, you will die either way." The Dark Fairy Queen floated into the air and blew a frigid air at Elesis. Elesis jumped back to avoid the attack. The ground she was standing on became a sheet of ice.

"That's dangerous." She muttered to herself as she pulled her sword off her back and took her stance. She charged forward, darting around the sheet of ice and jumping at the Queen. The Queen raised her hand, firing an orb of darkness at Elesis, who blocked it with her sword and fell to the ground, landing on her feet.

"Interesting, your weapon can block my magic? A weapon blessed by the pseudo-deities, perhaps?"

"Pseudo-deities?" Elesis asked confused.

"Partusay of the sea, yggdrasil of nature, the basilisk of fire among others. They pass themselves off as deities, and perhaps they are strong enough to be considered as such by you humans, but in truth they are merely servants of the true deities."

"The true deities? And who are they?"

"Samsara of the light, Starklin of flames, Yamini of water and ice, Perseo of the earth, Gaia of nature, Serinya of the sky and Tataru of the darkness. They are the true rulers of the world."

"Wow, so you survived against this Starklin guy, huh?"

"You show much disrespect girl, and no, I have never before encountered any of the deities. Not that it really matters. Lord Void will do away with them in due time."

"Do away with the deities...? Are you in league with Faren!" The Queen laughed.

"That fool? Yes, you could say I'm in league with him. But he is foolish, I stand above him." Elesis' eyes widened and the grip on her sword tightened.

"You're stronger than Faren?" Elesis stepped back, frightened.

"Hmmm... I'm... smarter, and higher ranked in our group... but I'm not stronger."

"What group is this!"

"We are called Void, led by lord Void."

"So then, was Void responsible for what happened to Silverland?"

"Indeed, we felt the need to cut them off. The Silver Knights were a threat, their potential was to great."

"So you're going to wipe out an entire continent just to get rid of them?"

"Of course not, I have no intention of harming the people on this continent as long as the silver knights are wiped out. We need some people to rule over, after all." Elesis gritted her teeth.

"Damn, you're the worst kind of person." The Queen laughed.

"Perhaps, but no matter. You will still die here. As long as you hold that weapon then you can never defeat me." Elesis looked down at her sword.

"This weapon? But this is what makes me strong, I'll destroy you with it!"

"And that is precisely why you stand no chance." Elesis shook her head, extremely annoyed by the Queen's riddles.

"Just watch!" Elesis leapt from the ground swinging her blade at the Queen, who avoided the attack easily. She raised her hand and a large icicle appeared from it like a blade. Elesis spun in the air and blocked the ice with her blade just in time. Elesis fell and landed on the ground. The Queen floated down, stopping in front of her.

"I'll admit, you are stronger than I had anticipated. Even so, you will not defeat me, not with that weapon."

"What's all this talk about my weapon, why are you so fixated on it?"

"Just know that that weapon will forever hold you back, you shall never defeat me so long as you hold it."

"You just keep saying the same thing. This weapon was made to make me stronger, it doesn't hold me back." The Queen laughed again. Elesis clenched her teeth, extremely angry with the Queen. "That's enough!" She swung her sword back and charged towards the Queen. She attempted to cleave the queen, who floated up, avoiding the attack. Without missing a beat, Elesis pushed off the ground and spun around, attempting to slash the Queen again. She flapped her wings and made a quick dodge, barely avoiding the slash. Elesis spun and tried to slash upwards one last time before landing on the ground. The Queen barely avoided the last attack.

"You're surprisingly agile with such a large weapon." As soon as she landed Elesis turned and swung her up at the Queen. She easily avoided the attack. "Even so, you're to slow to hit me."

"Seems like you've had a couple of close calls here. I'm taking you down either way."

"Try it." The Queen floated into the air, far above Elesis' ability to reach. Elesis growled beneath her breath.

"Get down here!" The Queen giggled.

"Fool, why would I do that?" The Queen opened her palm and a rain of dark orbs fell towards Elesis. Elesis darted around, avoiding orbs and blocking with her sword.

"I'll finish you then I'll finish that last boy, I've been hunting him to long, but I've finally found his hiding place. I'll be going there as soon as you're dead. now hurry up and die so I may move on from this god forsaken continent and move on to bigger places like Bermesiah and the hidden isle of elves." Elesis clenched her teeth again, extremely angry at the Queen's announcements.

"Damn you, I won't let you go to any of those places!"

"And what do you think you can do to stop me?" Elesis screamed and the next thing she knew, the dark orbs stopped falling. Her position had changed and she felt extremely tired. The Queen fell from the sky, severely injured. Elesis had just enough energy to turn her head slightly and see the Queen on the ground. "What was that?" The Queen asked in extreme pain. Elesis panted heavily and grinned.

"Savior." The Queen raised her hands.

"I can't die, I will continue regaining my strength no matter what is thrown at me."

"Wrong." Elesis grinned. Jin landed behind the queen with flames surrounding his body. He raised his hands and an enormous orb of energy appeared in front of him. Elesis had seen this technique before, when Thomas had displayed it for her.

"Buring Arts!" Jin yelled. "True Fist of Ten Thousand Hells." He punched the orb and it flew towards the Queen, absorbing her. She screamed in pain at the force of the attack. There was a bright flash, blinding Elesis. When her eyes adjusted she saw that the Queen and the orb were gone. "Damn!" She heard Jin yell as he fell to his knees. "She got away!" Elesis' legs gave out and she fell to her hands and knees as well. "Hey, what the hell! You're part of the plan was to get me to safety, you can't pass out to!"

Elesis gave a pained chuckle. "Sorry." She collapsed on the ground of the ruins, followed shortly after by Jin.

* * *

That's that. I'm hoping to update again soon, but I've got another long gig (11 days straight, 8-12 hours per day starting on Thursday) so it may be awhile. Also, As you can see, the group has been seperated again. I have stories for all of them but I'm on the fence as to whether to put the stories one by one (EG. finish Elesis and Jin before moving on to Ronan or Amy or Ryan.) Or to splice them together (EG. next chapter starts Amy's story the next starts Ronan's etc.) I can see both being adequate, but I'm not sure which to go with. If anyone thinks they'd like one over the other then please let me know why so I can add it to my list of things to consider for both sides.

Well review and have a nice day.


	39. Yggdrasil

Sorry, hit a patch of uninspired depression where I didn't get anything done, just kinda went day by day... well I'm back.

Enjoy.

* * *

Jin's eyes slowly opened to the light shining down on him. He sat up and rubbed his head.

"What happened?" He moaned. He looked around the room he was in. "The hell am I?" he asked himself agitated. "Kinda looks like... Erin's house?" He got out of the bed and walked towards the window. The view outside confirmed his suspicions. He was back in Asurin. The door slowly opened and a woman with long black hair entered. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest and smiled.

"Jin, it's about time you woke up."

"Ms. Erin? good to see you again." Jin bowed.

"Please Jin drop the ms. just Erin is fine." Jin shook his head.

"No, the silver knights are taught to show proper respect to their elders." He bowed again. Erin's eyebrow twitched slightly at the use of the word 'elder', but Jin didn't take note of it. "Now, may I ask how I got here?"

Erin sighed, "Yes yes, of course. We found you in the ruins and brought you back of course."

"What, but I told you all not to go through the ruins."

"Which is exactly why it took so long to find you and get you back here. We were being cautious as we looked through the ruins, but when we realized that the skeletons weren't running around anymore we headed straight in and found you along with some strange girl that none of us had ever seen."

"Yeah, that's Elesis, she came from the outside."

"The outside? Then can she show us how to get out!" Jin shook his head.

"Nah, she's useless in that regard. I'll admit she's tough though, holding her own against the Dark Fairy Queen for so long. Has she woken up yet?" Erin shook her head.

"She seems to be in pretty bad shape."

"I see, I'll get her a seed then, I wanted to talk to Yggdrasil anyways."

"Wait Jin, you can't be thinking of leaving right after you woke up?"

"S'nothing new. I used to do it all the time when I was fighting the Fairy Queen. Besides I need some answers from Yggdrasil, I overheard the Queen say some things that I need to ask him about."

"At least rest for today, Jin." Jin shook his head again.

"No, I'm the only Silver Knight left. I'm not gonna take it easy until I've reconnected Silverland to the outside world. It's the duty left to me by my companions." Erin sighed, knowing that she couldn't argue with him.

"At least eat something before you go, and say hi to the other villagers so they don't worry about you. And change those clothes." Jin sighed.

"Alright, alright. Geez." Jin walked over to the closet where Erin kept some clothes for him and changed out of the white combat clothes into a matching set of black ones. "Better?"

"Much, now come and show everyone that you're alright." Erin left the small house and Jin followed her. Everyone was overjoyed to see Jin alright. He felt somewhat disgusted. He tried to remind himself that it wasn't their fault but he was uncomfortable that they were happy and celebrating his return when every other Silver Knight had died and been used as weapons. He kept telling himself to let it go, that they hadn't seen what he had when he fought the Queen. No matter how hard Jin tried, he was still relieved when he had finished seeing everyone and eating. Erin finally let him leave the town. He stood at the border of the town with Erin.

"Thank you, I'll be going now."

"Be careful Jin. all the others wouldn't be happy if you died now."

"Hmph, I don't plan on it. Besides I still owe Elesis. Keep an eye on her, don't let her go running off if she wakes up, she'll only cause trouble."

"Alright then. Good luck Jin." Jin nodded and set off towards Yggdrasil's forest, located beyond the ruins of the silver knights. As he passed through the ruins, he stopped and muttered a short prayer for his father, Victor and all the other silver knights who had died there. He also said something for Thomas, who he recently learned was dead. After his prayer was over he continued on his way to the forest. It didn't take long for him to arrive, it rarely did, however reaching Yggdrasil within the maze of a forest always proved itself to be the true test. Jin sighed and started into the forest. The moment he entered he knew something was wrong. The animals were missing. There were rarely many around the entrance, but he should have been able to here the bushes shaking as they all scattered due to his entrance. His eyes darted around him, surveying his surroundings. He took a disguised fighting stance, ready to block any attack that came at him, but none did. He dropped his hands back to his side.

"It's been a long time since I've been here." He muttered to himself. "And the Dark Fairy was on the move at the time, I suppose I should've expected there to be less animals than their were before." He reached up and started rubbing his shoulder. "I'm getting paranoid. Guess I can't really help that, having fought the Queen alone for so long, but still." Jin sighed and continued through the forest. He had forgotten the way through the maze and had no choice but to trust himself, trust his body. He was a Silver Knight, a fighter. Their bodies knew things that their minds couldn't keep up with. Every action he's ever taken, every exercise he'd ever performed was engraved on his body, in his muscles, and his body would repeat these actions without his mind ever knowing. He followed the path that his legs took him. Nothing looked familiar, and he didn't know anything about where he was. All he could do was trust himself. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of aimless wandering, he came to an area he recognized. This trees pushed so close together that they formed a wall were on either side of him creating a sort of hallway to a small opening ahead. This was the one thing he remembered, he knew that Yggdrasil was just ahead. He ran down the dark path through the opening. Within was a large open area. The trees above were far enough apart that the sun poured into this small room-like spot in the forest. This was where Yggdrasil met with those who wished to speak with him, for Jin's almost two decades and long before him it had been like this.

"Yggdrasil!" Jin called into the space. "I have some question for you! We need to speak, right now!" It was silent, nothing moved or made a sound. The only sound was Jin's slow, calm breath and the increasingly rapid beat of his heart as he realized that something was very wrong. "Lord Yggdrasil! Please say something, answer me!" again, silence. JIn gulped loudly and charged into the room, examining every corner. There was no sign of Yggdrasil, nor any signs of any animals. Thinking back, Jin realized that there had been no animals throughout the entire forest. Something was very wrong, and Jin knew it was up to him to figure it out. Suddenly Jin felt a presence behind him. A large unfamiliar presence. Feeling the hostility in the air, Jin quickly jumped high into the sky, doing a backflip to fly backwards as a large log smashed the ground he had been standing upon moments before. Jin landed and quickly looked at his assailant. It was a large red tree, with two long trunks for arms. It had two wooden legs as well and stood slowly without turning it's back to Jin. There was no doubt, Jin's assailant was the guardian of the forest, the oldest and wisest ent that ever came into being and also the tree of life, Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil spun quickly, swinging it's arm with great force. Jin was to shocked to react this time, just as he was about to dodge, the trunk laid a clean hit on his abdomen, throwing him backwards. Jin rolled across the ground but came to a stop on his feet. His stomach was in great pain, but his training wouldn't allow him to go down so easily.

"What are you doing?" Jin yelled, frantically. Yggdrasil did not answer, instead he reached down, grabbing a large piece of the ground and threw it at Jin. Jin avoided the attack with relative ease, although every little movement was giving him pain due to the heavy hit he had taken earlier. He clenched his teeth as Yggdrasil pulled another hard clump of dirt and stone out of the ground. It threw the stone towards Jin, who jumped towards it, destroying it with a kick. "Dammit, what's going on?" Jin muttered to himself as he dodged Yggdrasil's attacks. Finally Yggdrasil made a strange, very low roar to the sky and then reeled back slightly. "What the hell is he doing?" Jin asked confused. Yggdrasil swung forward breathing fire, but not towards Jin. "Damn!" Jin charged forward Just barely getting in the way of the flame. He clenched his fist in his hand and absorbed all the flame towards himself. He screamed loudly as he was burned. The flame dissipated and Jin was left standing there, the ground beneath him charred and he himself in pour condition. His clothes were fire resistant, a requirement to using his burning arts, and that helped keep the fire off a lot of his bare skin, but it certainly didn't protect him from the damage the heat caused.

Jin panted loudly. "Damn, what the hell is going on. At least... the forest is... safe. But there's only one way to keep it like that." Clenching his teeth at the immense pain running through his body, Jin charged forward delivering a powerful kick to Yggdrasil's main body. Yggdrasil staggered back. He seemed to have trouble with balance due to his large body. Jin took the opportunity and jumped into the air, coming down hard on Yggdrasil with his fist. He pulled his arm back and delivered another hard punch to Yggdrasil. "I'm sorry, lord Yggdrasil." Jin threw his arms back, collecting energy into his body until it burst into flames around him. He charged forward delivering quick punches and kicks in quick succession. He ended it by landing on the ground directly next to Yggdrasil and throwing his fist into Yggdrasil's body. "Blazing crash!" All the fire ran from Jin's body down his arm and into his fist, exploding itself onto Yggdrasil. Jin went flying backward with the recoil of the attack. He tried over and over but Jin couldn't so much as lift his upper body off the ground. The most he could do was turn his head and look at the form of Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil slowly rose to his feet. Jin's eyes grew wide. His opponent had risen again and yet he couldn't move. Yggdrasil slowly moved towards Jin, who could only stare on in fear as he approached. Yggdrasil's long arm swung over Jin, but Jin felt no impact. Instead a small seed fell from Yggdrasil's arm and landed on Jin's chest. Jin pushed with all his might, forcing his arm up to the seed and putting it in his mouth. He chewed the foul tasting food slowly, and soon began to feel his energy return to him. His wounds were healing and he was able to move again. He quickly jumped to his feet. "Lord Yggdrasil!"

"Yes, Jin... Thank you, for stopping me."

"What happened?"

"He, used me. He put me into a fit of rage that he could control."

"He, who's he?"

"Ashtaroth, former servant of Starklin, and Lord Void's little errand boy.

"What?"

"Listen Jin. They've been draining my power, I have much to say, and so very little time. You must listen."

"I will, Lord Yggdrasil."

"Good, then know, I am no deity. I was sent by my mistress, Gaia, the true master of Nature, to watch over the humans. It was a lie, I am not Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil exists as part of Gaia."

"What, but your seeds."

"I tried to give the seeds sparingly. My seeds mimic Yggdrasil's. I'm sorry Jin, I could see no other way. While my seeds indeed restore your life force and return your energy, they also reduce the remaining life span of a human... by half." Jin's eyes grew wide as he realized what he had just eaten. His breathing quickened and became heavy. "Please Jin. You must listen to the rest of my words."

"I-I..." Jin gulped loudly and took a deep breath to calm himself. "I'm sorry, Lord Yggdrasil, I will."

"There exists a continent, floating in the sky, called Xenia. On Xenia live the seven deities, one for each of the seven elements. Starklin of fire, Yamini of Water, Perseo of earth, Gaia of Nature, Serinya of the wind, Tataru of Darkness and Samsara of the light. These seven hold the balance of the world. Yet, a man rose up against them. A demon named Duell. He collected many followers, including Ashtaroth and the Dark Fairy Queen, and created Void. They work towards domination, not of this world, but of all worlds. For this, they started by using a young man from another world to control Kaze'aze. Giving her dark powers she began to instill fear and unrest in the people. If they were scared of her, what would happen if Duell appeared and destroyed her with a single stroke? Yet it was not meant to be, as Faren grew too quickly, he grew too powerful. So powerful that he now Rivals the power of Void. He, was the more immediate threat, and so the seven deities, leaving their domains to their servants, entered into a deep slumber. Their powers were sealed within seven orbs and these seven orbs were sent to the humans, and found rest within seven children. only with this power can Faren be defeated. The girl who appeared on this continent is one such child. Within her, the Blazing power of Starklin burns fiercely. You must help her, Jin. She must return to the world outside of SilverLand."

"But, you're... h-how...?"

"Jin I am one of many servants who were sent to look after the world along with the orbs. King Guang serves Yamini and King Fang serves Starklin. They will be able to guide you further. Now I have one last thing for you." Yggdrasil's arm raised weakly and a single seed fell out. "I pray, that you never find a use for this seed. Use it only in a time of direst need." Jin picked up the palm sized seed and stared at it, almost ready to start hyperventilating at just the thought of eating it. "One last thing, don't tell the girl about Starklin's power. It would not do to have her, or her friends, relying on power's that they cannot control."

"I understand, Lord Yggdrasil. I swear, I'll help her, and find the one who did this to you." Yggdrasil smiled warmly.

Good-bye, Jin, it was truly a pleasure to have watched you grow." Yggdrasil's eyes slowly closed, and his body slumped down, falling into nothing more than another dead tree.

"Yggdrasil..." Jin folded his fist into his hand and bowed to Yggdrasil's corpse before he left the forest. Jin wandered his way through the forest to the exit and rushed back to Asurin. Erin greeted him near the entrance.

"There you are. It was getting late, you had me worried."

"Yeah, sorry. Anything happen while I was gone."

"Well, that girl woke up just a few hours ago, that's why I came out to wait for you. She's crashing around back at my house, I have no idea how she has so much energy."

"She's up..? Good, I need to speak to her immediately." Jin rushed to Erin's house to find Elesis eating with Erin's husband. As soon as he entered, Elesis turned to him and smiled.

"Hey, you're back." She said happily. Jin smiled somewhat, not because he was happy, just exasperated. "where were you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was in Yggdrasil's forest."

"Who?"

"One of the deities around here... at any rate, after talking to him... I've decided to help you find your way out of Silverland." Elesis jumped out of her seat.

"Really!? What's with the sudden change of heart."

"Just don't worry about it, anyways, we have to find the Silverland's other deities."

"Who're they?"

"King Guang and King Fang. King Guang is a sea dragon who lives in the fen past lake aurora and King fang is an elder worm drake who lives in the volcanic region near primevel island."

"So why are we going to meet them?"

"According to Yggdrasil, they should have more information as to how to get you out of here."

"Jin... how is Yggdrasil?" Erin asked. "The forest has been looking weaker since the dark fairy queen arrived.

"Yggdrasil was being controlled, and now he's dead."

"He's dead?!"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. You guys are going to have to handle things here yourself for the time being."

"Of course, Jin. With the dark faerie queen gone, and the animals from Yggdrasil's forest calming down, we'll be fine."

"Good, now move Elesis, I'm hungry." Jin sat down in Elesis' seat and started eating.

"Hmph, fine, I was done anyway."

"We leave in the morning, make sure you have everything ready by then."

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter, again sorry, waves of debilitating depression hit me every few years or so.

Well, review and see you for the next chapter.


End file.
